Woe to our military, woe to our nation<\/p>\n
Endy M. Bayuni, Staff writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The current debate about whether members of the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) should be allowed
\nto vote, as well as to run for office, in the 2004 general
\nelection has reached ludicrous proportions. It is most
\ndistressing to see this nation wasting so much time, energy and
\nresources on an issue that other countries recognize as so self-
\nevident that any discussion of the matter is a nonstarter.<\/p>\n
This at a time when the nation has so many more important
\nthings to do, from fixing the economy, waging war on corruption
\nand reforming the legal system, to keeping the country intact
\nagainst various centrifugal forces.<\/p>\n
But this is Indonesia, a nation that has just emerged from
\nmore than 30 years of repression. This is a nation that has only
\njust rediscovered its freedom to express opinions openly. This is
\na nation whose new favorite pastime is to engage in endless
\ndebates. This is a nation whose leaders, faced with mountains of
\nseemingly unsolvable economic and political problems, have opted
\nto take the easy route: talk and talk and talk.<\/p>\n
The current debate about the right to vote for TNI\/Polri
\nmembers has provided politicians and government leaders (and
\nunfortunately the media, too) with a new issue that has managed
\nto divert public attention away from the real problems facing the
\ncountry -- problems that these leaders should be fixing. This
\nissue has virtually absolved the government and politicians of
\ntheir responsibility to do what they should be doing.<\/p>\n
In most other democratic countries, and even in some
\nrepressive ones, the right to vote for members of the military is
\nsomething that is taken for granted.<\/p>\n
True, this right has been \"taken away\" from TNI members since
\nthey last voted in 1955. But then, this has always been a sweet
\ndeal for our armed forces.<\/p>\n
In exchange for their \"sacrifice\", they have ensured for
\nthemselves representation in the House of Representatives and the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly in far greater proportion to
\ntheir size. In the present-day system, a seat in the House is
\nworth 400,000 votes. Today, TNI and Polri, whose combined forces
\namount to about 420,000 personnel, have 38 seats. Between the
\n1970s and 1990s, they were grossly over-represented, with 100
\nseats at one time.<\/p>\n
This is an arrangement that goes all the way down to the
\nlowest levels of regional legislative councils. No other group in
\nour society is as heavily represented in the legislature as the
\nmilitary and the police.<\/p>\n
But that was then, when the military was in charge of the
\nnation. And this is now, when we are moving toward a civil
\nsociety.<\/p>\n
The bill on general elections submitted by the government last
\nmonth to the House of Representatives, proposes restoring TNI and
\nPolri members' right to vote in the 2004 elections.<\/p>\n
It also proposes allowing TNI and Polri members, along with
\ncivil servants, to run for elected office, provided that they
\ntake a leave of absence from the military. This is definitely a
\nnonissue. In no other country are members of the military or
\npolice allowed to contest elections. They have to resign, and not
\nsimply take a leave of absence. Once they resign, they are no
\nlonger with the force. Therefore, the wording in the bill should
\nsimply state that members of TNI\/Polri cannot run for elected
\noffice. Period.<\/p>\n
The bill does not specifically state that in return for the
\nright to vote, the TNI and Polri are forfeiting the right to
\nautomatic representation in the legislature. But it implies just
\nthat, for they cannot have it both ways.<\/p>\n
This is the catch of the bill that everybody seems to know
\nabout, but for some reason are refusing to discuss. Thus, the
\ndebate has instead focused solely on the right of TNI and Polri
\nmembers to vote, instead of on their political privileges. The
\nreal issue, of course, is that the free seats in the legislature
\nthat TNI\/Polri have enjoyed all this time are now at stake.<\/p>\n
Since no one seems to want to address the real issue directly,
\nthe debate has turned into a farce, often comical in proportion,
\nand certainly beyond comprehension, as illustrated by statements
\nby politicians and news headlines on the subject. TNI's response
\nhas only made a bad situation worse.<\/p>\n
Here are some samples of the most ridiculous
\nstatements\/headlines:<\/p>\n
\"TNI not ready to use the right to vote before 2009.\"<\/p>\n
\"Don't give TNI\/Polri the right to vote.\"<\/p>\n
\"Giving TNI\/Polri members the right to vote is dangerous.\"<\/p>\n
\"TNI needs time to prepare members to exercise right to vote.\"<\/p>\n
And not all of the statements opposing the election bill's
\nproposal to restore the voting rights of TNI personnel have come
\nfrom the military.<\/p>\n
Some politicians and commentators have come to the defense of
\nthe military not regaining the right to vote before 2009,
\nprofessing to speak for the good of the reform movement.<\/p>\n
Some of these people may have spoken out of ignorance, but
\nsome of the politicians have set their sights on the 2004
\npresidential election. By taking this stand, they are hoping that
\nthe TNI\/Polri faction in the Assembly will swing the vote their
\nway in an election that is expected to be very tight and
\ncompetitive.<\/p>\n
Prior to the submission of the bill, the consensus was that
\nTNI\/Polri would be phased out of the House in 2004 and the
\nAssembly not before 2009. No one had questioned that consensus
\nuntil now. The bill, which was drafted by officials at the
\nMinistry of Home Affairs, effectively put the issue back on the
\nfront burner. Hence, the debate that has consumed so much of our
\nattention these past three weeks.<\/p>\n
Still, the nation could have made efficient use of its time
\nand resources if it had addressed the real issue, that is the
\nrepresentation of the TNI\/Polri in the legislature, instead of
\nendlessly engaging in a debate about the right to vote and the
\nright to run for office.<\/p>\n
TNI, of all institutions, should have been gunning at the
\nissue in a more direct manner. It should have simply stated that
\nit is not ready to quit the political arena before 2009.<\/p>\n
Now the strategy of \"indirectness\" has backfired on the TNI.
\nWe certainly hope the military opts for a more direct approach
\nwhen it comes to matters of national defense.<\/p>\n
Speaking of national defense, if the TNI's response to the
\nquestion of the right to vote is to be believed, then it raises
\nanother important question: If the TNI needs seven years to
\nprepare its members to exercise their voting rights -- presumably
\nto teach them how to use their conscience in casting their
\nballots -- then how many years will it need to teach its
\npersonnel about defending the country?<\/p>\n
This question is my contribution to this ludicrous debate.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/woe-to-our-military-woe-to-our-nation-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }