There's hope in new legislators<\/p>\n
Doubts and hopes of all Indonesians on whether badly needed
\nchanges for the better will occur colored Friday's installment of
\nthe new legislators. Politics lecturer Riswandha Imawan comments
\non the issue in an interview with The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Question: How would you judge the ability and composition of
\nthe new legislators?<\/p>\n
Answer: Some are, indeed, figures who have changed clothes;
\nold figures who switched parties. There are figures like Mathori
\nAbdul Djalil, who is from the United Development Party (PPP) and
\nnow chairs the National Awakening Party (PKB). They were among
\ncritical figures and were threatened with being discharged by
\ntheir parties.<\/p>\n
What also must be noted regarding the current composition of
\nlegislators is the many relatively young figures from various
\ndisciplines. There is legal expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra,
\npolitical expert Amien Rais and economist Kwik Kian Gie, and many
\nothers.<\/p>\n
This composition reveals that the entrance of the New Order
\nextension -- represented by old figures still dumbfounded by the
\nillusions of the Soeharto regime -- theoretically cannot do
\nanything in the legislature. Except for the X factor, like money
\npolitics. If they were affected, they would become nobody.<\/p>\n
However, in state administration, the bureaucracy needs
\nspecialists. And the many specialists in the legislature will
\nalso make coordination difficult.
\n Could you elaborate?<\/p>\n
Those specialists still consider their own fields as the most
\nimportant, which would hamper team work. An accommodative manager
\nwould be needed to organize them into a harmonious orchestra ...
\nto avoid chaos.<\/p>\n
Who do you think would have such managerial skills?<\/p>\n
Gus Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid) could meet such needs for the
\nHouse of Representatives. He's done that several times. Or if we
\nwere to ignore civil-military differences, the Indonesian
\nMilitary Chief of Territorial Affairs Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono could also carry out such a role.<\/p>\n
What about the composition of the People's Consultative
\nAssembly?<\/p>\n
Here we have many people who got their seats for political
\nreasons. I see elections of several of them are not free from the
\nsmell of money politics. Take Fuad Bawazier, he was rejected in
\nCentral Java. But then he made it in Yogyakarta. Anyone would be
\nsuspicious. Abdul Gafur was rejected in Aceh but he made it
\nanyway to the Assembly. In general, things look bad for the
\nAssembly. They could be really partisan. But I think at the
\nHouse, people there are really committed to the reform agenda.<\/p>\n
Would that mean we could hope for a thorough revelation and
\nsettlement of rights abuses and corruption, especially the case
\nconcerning former president Soeharto?<\/p>\n
I would think so, especially when the new Cabinet starts. From
\nthe current Cabinet we cannot hope for anything anymore.
\n(President B.J.) Habibie was finished well before the Assembly's
\nGeneral Session. If he were reelected with Wiranto as vice
\npresident there would be extraordinary resistance from the
\npublic. In other words, all those who have been assumed to
\nprotect Soeharto's practices of corruption, collusion and
\nnepotism would no doubt be removed. And those preferred by the
\npublic will come forth.<\/p>\n
Are you sure that the current composition of the legislature
\nrenders small the chance for Habibie and Wiranto as his proposed
\nvice president?<\/p>\n
Yes, if efforts persist (to make them president and vice
\npresident), for instance through money politics, the public will
\nraise massive resistance. The Assembly members should, therefore,
\nreally listen to the voice of the people, that they are objecting
\nto the Habibie-Wiranto duo.<\/p>\n
True, in the current situation of the country we cannot just
\nabandon the role of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in politics, at
\nleast in the next five years. Anyone who becomes president should
\nhave a vice president from TNI.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
We only have two choices now. One is accommodating them with
\nthe risk that we tolerate militarism, or two, letting them be,
\nmeaning letting their nature develop unchecked to the extent they
\ntake over power. The first choice is clearly better because it
\nwould avoid a greater disaster. It must be understood that the
\nmain function of TNI is to uphold the law while our laws and
\nrules are now in chaos. The question is why TNI all this time
\ndidn't do this, which is, of course, related to its track record
\nof 32 years, in which it was not neutral. (swa)<\/p>",
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