Time to go for pro-Soeharto legislators<\/p>\n
About half of our current legislators will be running for
\nreelection. H.S. Dillon of the National Commission on Human
\nRights thinks it would be better for them to step down
\naltogether.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Many have asked me whether I was surprised that
\nthe House of Representatives (DPR) had failed to summon President
\nB.J. Habibie for questioning, let alone impeach him. I have had
\nto reveal to them that I was not surprised, just plain
\ndisappointed. And sad, that even after President Habibie himself
\nhad confirmed the authenticity of the tapes revealing abuse of
\nthe Presidential office and obstruction of justice by the
\nPresident, parliament ruled that there were no grounds to
\nquestion him.<\/p>\n
But what could one really have expected from legislators who
\nhad voted to keep President Soeharto in office for yet another
\nterm in March 1998? Afterwards he had publicly asked them to go
\nand find out whether the Indonesian people really still wanted
\nhim. "Maybe they are afraid, maybe they are too polite," Soeharto
\nhad wondered aloud. "No, no, Mr. President, all of the Indonesian
\npeople love you very, very much," the thousand legislators had
\nreplied in chorus. Now, you couldn't expect five hundred of the
\nsame legislators to prod President Habibie into bringing Soeharto
\nto justice, could you? Could they also possess the cold heart or
\nscheming mind of Harmoko, who called for Soeharto's resignation
\nin the middle of the crisis, even after having amassed great fame
\nand fortune as a Soeharto stalwart? No, they could not be as
\ncalculating as the accomplished dalang (puppeteer).<\/p>\n
Thus, while these "respectable Indonesians" still hold office
\nwe cannot expect Soeharto to be brought to trial. Their
\nreluctance to atone for their past misdeeds and mend their ways
\ndoes not augur well for our efforts to rise from the ashes and
\nbuild a "New Indonesia". It is evident that they are not drawing
\nany lessons at all from the crisis. They appear to be in the same
\nleague as many of our ministers, who, oblivious to the plight of
\nthe millions of impoverished people, have in the past few months
\nbeen vying with each other to throw the most extravagant wedding
\nparty for their beloved children. Soehartoists to the very core,
\nroyalty with utter disdain for the masses.<\/p>\n
"Surely there must be some good people among them," you would
\nsay, "they can't be all that bad." I admit that there could be
\nsome, but I am confident that the true patriots among the
\nlegislators would gladly step aside now and consider this small
\npersonal sacrifice to be yet another contribution to the
\nrepublic.<\/p>\n
Their sterling qualities would stand out even more if they
\nwere to resign from parliament now, and no doubt they would
\nemerge as forerunners in the 2004 elections. On the other hand,
\nmany of the younger pro-Soeharto legislators who plan to dig in
\nare already heaping blame on the previous "system".<\/p>\n
They are espousing the argument that it was the system which
\nencouraged such behavior on their part, and that they -- as
\nrightfully elected representatives of the people -- are not to
\nblame. Yet others maintain that they were pressured by their
\npeers to reelect Soeharto against their conscience. But it is
\nexactly these types of individuals that we no longer want.<\/p>\n
At this time, the country needs those who will act as true
\nrepresentatives of the people, and dare to follow their
\nconsciences irrespective of the personal consequences, even at
\nthe risk of losing office.<\/p>\n
We hear that half of these old legislators will be running for
\nreelection themselves. Which means that the party officials
\nfielding them are convinced that there has been no fundamental
\nchange, that it is business-as-usual, just like in Soeharto's
\nheyday. Back then all they needed to do to assure reelection was
\nto act as faithful courtiers in Soeharto's kingdom. The elections
\nwere just another party, where billions would be milked from
\ncolluding businessmen and corrupt government officials and
\nsquandered to woo the voters.<\/p>\n
In fact, many of these self-serving party officials are
\npreparing to field their wives as candidates again. Public
\nopinion be damned! They consider the public naive to expect the
\nforthcoming elections to usher in a clean, corruption-free
\ngovernment. These sycophants know they will continue to enjoy the
\nperks of office, ever ready to obsequiously serve whoever comes
\nout on top.<\/p>\n
Who cares that so many young, bright, and cheerful lives have
\nbeen extinguished in the fight for political reform? These
\nlegislators must have cold blood running in their veins -- like
\nreptiles -- to display such heartless indifference.<\/p>\n
No wonder that the country is tearing apart, that brothers are
\nslaughtering brothers with abandon. With such cold-blooded
\nindividuals representing them in parliament, how dare the masses
\nbe different? They must continue to be the "floating masses", and
\nfaithfully emulate the behavior of their elite. When they decry
\nthe murder of innocents by marauding mobs, these legislators
\nforget that they, too, have blood on their hands. Tens of
\nmillions saw them laughing and congratulating themselves on TV
\nfor having legalized the Habibie regime on Nov. 13, 1998, while
\nWiranto's troops were mowing down innocent students on the
\nstreets. Students who were trying to gain the attention of these
\nlegislators. Students who were fighting for a more democratic,
\ncleaner Indonesia. To date, these legislators have not done
\nanything at all to push for an investigation into the murder of
\nthese students, symbols of our nation's future.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian people have had enough of such opportunists.
\nIt is time for them to go. All Indonesians who do not want our
\nstudent heroes to have died in vain, should galvanize our
\ncountrymen to bring pressure to bear upon these heartless
\nlegislators. We must marshal support from all quarters to force
\nthe political parties not to field these parliamentarians, who
\nhave responsible for gross violations of human rights, in the
\nforthcoming elections. We should leave no stone unturned in
\nforcing the likes of Gafur and Harmoko out. Now!<\/p>\n
We must not let these callous impostors contaminate our New
\nIndonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/time-to-go-for-pro-soeharto-legislators-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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