The people have spoken<\/p>\n
While the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) was beginning
\nits four-day Special Session on Tuesday, the country's leading
\nopposition politicians saw fit to remind the nation that the
\nreform movement was still very much alive. Many people had
\ninterpreted the passive stance adopted by pro-reform leaders in
\nthe recent weeks and months as a sign that the noble movement had
\nrun aground.<\/p>\n
The opposition leaders -- Abdurrahman Wahid of Nahdlatul
\nUlama, Amien Rais, a noted reform movement leader who now chairs
\nthe National Mandate Party (PAN), and Megawati Soekarnoputri, who
\nleads a popular faction of the splintered Indonesian Democratic
\nParty (PDI), said after a meeting that Habibie's term in office
\nshould end three months after the general election, which is
\nscheduled for May next year. Sultan Hamengkubuwono X of
\nYogyakarta also attended the meeting.<\/p>\n
This statement might not ring sweetly in President B.J.
\nHabibie's ear, who must surely be weighing up means of staying in
\npower beyond 1999.<\/p>\n
The opposition leaders also gave their backing to widespread
\ncalls for an end to the Armed Forces' (ABRI's) sociopolitical
\nrole and demanded an investigation into the wealth allegedly
\namassed by former president Soeharto, his family and friends
\nduring Soeharto's 32-year rule.<\/p>\n
In siding with those who wish to see ABRI's dual function come
\nto an end, the trio have adopted a more realistic stance than
\nother opposition figures who are demanding an immediate end to
\nthe dual function.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Jakarta on Tuesday, our legislators, who now too
\ncall themselves reformists, were busy trying to draw a political
\nmap to guide the nation into the next century. Ordinary
\nIndonesians, watching the proceedings on television, uttered
\nubiquitous curses at Soeharto.<\/p>\n
These reformist politicians are the same people who reelected
\nSoeharto to a seventh consecutive term in office in March. Many
\nalso played a role in sending him into a comfortable retirement
\nafter the tragic events of May.<\/p>\n
Outside the meeting of the august constitutional body,
\nthousands of \"volunteer\" civilian guards have tried their best to
\nimpede the movement of pro-reform students. Clashes were reported
\nin some parts of the city before the untrained guards were asked
\nto leave the streets.<\/p>\n
The whole affair was yet another foolish farce -- one which
\nappears to have been designed to pit civilian against civilian.<\/p>\n
Many members of the MPR said they recognized the wisdom and
\nsincerity inherent in the opposition leader's statement. They may
\nhave realized that the trio are the most popular politicians and
\npublic figures in contemporary Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Although excluded from the Special Session and the political
\nestablishment, they command considerable public support. Each
\nmember of the trio wields greater individual political clout than
\nHabibie himself and their united statement should have far-
\nreaching political consequences.<\/p>\n
If sincere in the words of welcome they reserved for the
\nstatement, MPR members should now act to include it on the
\nsession's agenda and pass it as a motion to guide the future
\ncourse of the drive for reform. Legislators must now act with
\nwisdom and open hearts for the sake of our national interest.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-people-have-spoken-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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