Whither reform?<\/p>\n
The demise of Abdurrahman Wahid's presidency has raised the
\nspecter of a return to power of the forces of the repressive New
\nOrder regime which could have an adverse impact on the reform
\nmovement. When he was elected to the post in October 1999, Gus
\nDur, as the former president is popularly called, had impeccable
\ncredentials that led many to sincerely believe he was the right
\nperson to lead the nation in the campaign to build a civil
\nsociety.<\/p>\n
In contrast, while Megawati Soekarnoputri is not an
\nantireformist, many feel uneasy at her reliance on the New Order
\nforces, Golkar and the Indonesian Military (TNI) in particular,
\nin her ascent to power, including in removing Gus Dur last week.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur and his supporters believe that Megawati has dispensed
\ntoo many IOUs, particularly to the New Order elements, and by
\ndoing so can hardly be expected to implement the political, legal
\nand economic reforms that this country badly needs to get back on
\nits feet.<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen how much of this prophecy will come
\ntrue, or whether this is simply a prediction from a bitter,
\nunseated president. Now that Megawati has been elected through a
\ndemocratic process, we should give her the chance to prove that
\nshe has the vision and courage to implement the necessary
\nreforms.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, we should not overstate Gus Dur's
\ncontribution to the reform campaign either. The near-blind former
\npresident made his mark early in his presidency, particularly
\nwhen he replaced almost the entire leadership of the TNI. But
\nbeyond this, he did very little in advancing the reform agenda
\nfor a civil society in the 21 months he was in power.<\/p>\n
In fact, he spent the last 12 months of his presidency fending
\noff an impeachment attempt, at the expense of the national reform
\nagenda. He backtracked on his reform commitments at times such as
\nwhen he allowed the TNI to return to Aceh to quell a rebellion,
\nhaving earlier launched peace talks with the rebels, in his
\nattempt to appease the military and win its political support.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur even violated the sacred principle of democracy, the
\nvery cause he initially fought for, when he issued an edict to
\ndissolve the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). As imperfect
\nas the MPR may be, and as undesirable as some of its members
\nperhaps are, it is still a democratically elected institution and
\nshould thus be respected. In any campaign for democratic reform,
\nthe means can never justify the end, unless one is advocating a
\nrevolution.<\/p>\n
Since the real reform agenda was effectively dropped by Gus
\nDur when he became embroiled in the power struggle these past 12
\nmonths, it became irrelevant whether he remained in charge or
\nnot. All we can say is that with his departure, the non-
\ngovernmental organizations (NGOs) that championed democracy no
\nlonger have a sympathetic ear, for, before coming to power, Gus
\nDur was one of their prominent leaders.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur's departure could, in the end, be a blessing in
\ndisguise because the NGOs can now fight for their cause and
\nagenda far more effectively than before by keeping a safe
\ndistance from those in power. By their own definition, NGOs must
\nfight their battles from outside the government and never from
\ninside it. With Gus Dur out of the presidential palace, they can
\nnow afford to be more vocal in voicing their aspirations.<\/p>\n
But they must never fight from outside the political system.
\nIf the system is flawed, then the first agenda for the reformist
\ncamp should be changing the system itself, that is by fighting to
\namend or even replace the Constitution for one that is more
\namenable to the promotion of democracy and a civil society.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, with or without Gus Dur in charge, Indonesia is
\nnowhere near the civil society that many people in this nation
\naspired to when they joined in the reform movement in 1998. There
\nis still a long way to go yet. Rather than engaging in a
\nfruitless debate about where the movement is heading now that Gus
\nDur is out of the loop, it would be far better if we all renewed
\nour commitment to fight even harder to achieve that civil
\nsociety.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/whither-reform-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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