What about Soeharto?<\/p>\n
To most of us it must be heartening to see that besides
\nsetting a definite agenda for democratic reform through fair and
\nopen general elections as soon as possible, other issues of grave
\nnational concern such as putting a limit on the political role of
\nthe now all-powerful Armed Forces (ABRI) -- especially by
\nreducing, if not altogether abolishing, the number of seats it is
\nappointed in the House of Representatives -- are getting the due
\nattention of representatives at the ongoing Special Session of
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
One might on the other hand wonder, though, why such a
\nseemingly simple issue such as holding ex-president Soeharto
\naccountable for the wrongdoings he committed while he was in
\npower over the past 32 years appears to be making little headway
\nin the Assembly's discussions. After all, as holder of the MPR's
\nmandate to govern, wouldn't it be natural to expect a president
\nto present the Assembly with an account of his acts and policies
\nwhenever he ends his term or resigns? And wouldn't it be only
\nnatural to expect the MPR to ask for such an account?<\/p>\n
With this being the last day of the MPR Special Session,
\nhowever, reports coming out of the Assembly have indicated that
\nthere is little hope that a specific decree calling for an
\ninvestigation into the wealth of the former president and that of
\nhis family and cronies will be forthcoming since both the Golkar
\nand Armed Forces (ABRI) factions, who together dominate the
\nAssembly, have refused to discuss the proposal altogether.<\/p>\n
The minority United Development Party (PPP), reflecting the
\nfeeling of people outside the MPR building, is the only faction
\nin the Assembly calling for such a decree. Golkar and ABRI are
\nonly willing as far as inserting the subject as a clause in a
\ndecree on clean governance. This is another display of their
\nhalfhearted commitment to clean up corruption. A clause in a
\ndecree can easily be ignored, but a specific decree would give
\nthe needed impetus to kick start the investigation.<\/p>\n
One might ask how -- without an official probe into the
\nSoeharto clan's wealth, its extent and how it was acquired -- the
\nAssembly expects to effectively establish good and clean
\ngovernance -- a goal that all parties claim to be set on
\nachieving. A solid future cannot be built on decayed foundations.<\/p>\n
As the public understands it, one major difficulty in tracing
\nirregularities in the Soeharto clan's ownership of assets is that
\nmany or most of them appear to have been properly acquired --
\nthat is, at least when measured by strictly legal standards. Yet,
\nin the public's reasoning, considering the unbelievable extent of
\nthe family's holdings -- not to mention cronies -- they clearly
\nmust have been accumulated through improper means. Evidently
\nthere is a good deal to say for this line of reasoning. Few if
\nany of the public companies which this country counts, for
\nexample, are not in some way or another dependent on services
\nthat can be provided only by companies owned by members or
\ncronies of Soeharto's family.<\/p>\n
Corruption? Not necessarily if one were to look only at the
\nterms of the contracts. Yet, obviously, this is not a situation
\nthat a democratic egalitarian society would tolerate. Obviously,
\nit is primarily the government's task to initiate this huge job
\nof laying bare the tentacles of corruption and\/or mismanagement
\nthat have undermined our economy for so long. On the practical
\nside, uncovering the economic and bureaucratic mismanagement of
\nthe Soeharto era could make it easier for the authorities to
\nrecover lost assets and set standards for improvement. Proving
\nirregularities could also make it easier for the government to
\nrenegotiate unfavorable contracts with foreign partners.<\/p>\n
Last but certainly not least, a good deal more sincerity than
\nis apparent now in probing the Soeharto fortunes would also
\nappease critics who believe the government is either unable or
\nunwilling to reveal Soeharto's past misdeeds.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the only thing such hesitance achieves is to
\narouse suspicions that our present bureaucratic elite -- who were
\nall or nearly all raised under the New Order -- has itself things
\nto hide that could not bear to see the light of day.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/what-about-soeharto-1447893297",
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