1998: A ministerial search for confidence

1998: A ministerial search for confidence

By Sugianto Tandra

JAKARTA (JP): In search of lost public confidence.

One could say it is what many ministers of President B.J.
Habibie's Reform Cabinet have been striving to achieve for over
half of 1998.

A flashback to some moves that the Cabinet ministers have made
since they were sworn in May would make one wonder what, indeed,
has been achieved to heal people's confidence in the government
since crisis struck the nation last year. Some of the moves were
widely covered, while others escaped the glaring media spotlight.

There have been times when the ministers reminded one of a
classroom at the beginning of an academic year. There would
always be one or two who appear to be most self-assured and would
easily lead the pack. There were several others who seemed to be
standing on shaky ground, clumsily venturing an answer with fear
of being wrong written all over their faces.

There would always be one or two gruff bears, one or two
clowns, and of course one or two who were so timid that the class
forget they were there at all.

State Minister of Environment Panangian Siregar, for instance,
is notable precisely because there was almost never any mention
of him in the national media. An exception was made in June when
he expressed his support for the much-criticized plan to import
clay waste from Singapore for mangrove plantations in Riau.

On the sociopolitical side at least, among the most highly-
covered ministers was Minister of Defense/Armed Forces Commander
Gen. Wiranto.

For one thing, he was the highest authority when the Armed
Forces -- the most powerful and feared institution for decades --
suddenly found itself to be the target of public condemnation for
alleged atrocities in many parts of the country.

He would be there every time his institution was lambasted,
apologizing, issuing warnings, cajoling, defending,
threatening...

ABRI, Wiranto insisted, was reforming itself. In June, he
announced a new paradigm for its sociopolitical role.

"ABRI does not have to always be at the forefront any more. It
can act as a partner that does not necessarily have to hold a key
position but can still play an influential role."

Wiranto said ABRI was ready to share its political role with
non-military partners.

"It doesn't have to be an armed forces official, anybody can
lead the nation. ABRI will support whoever leads the country,"
Wiranto said.

In also an apparent move to win people's faith, Minister of
Information Muhammad Yunus -- himself an active army lieutenant
general -- made various moves that guaranteed him a spot in the
media in 1998.

After decades of struggle, the country's press finally won
back their long-lost freedom -- with Yunus there to help remove
some of the obstacles.

He revoked several regulations restricting press freedom.
Consequently, no matter how critical the press is of the
government, it will not be shut down, although it would still be
possible to sue a publication in court.

He strove to project his respect for press freedom to such an
extent that in June he said he envisaged that his ministry might
be scrapped altogether within five years because all this time it
had served only to restrict information.

Rich countries like Japan and the United States do not have
information ministries, he said during a hearing with the House
of Representatives.

"There are only 18 or 20 ministries in Japan... America
doesn't have an information ministry either, only the USIS, the
United States Information Service.

"Meanwhile, we are a poor country. But because we organize our
bureaucracy inappropriately, we hamper our own pace of
development," he said.

His concept, however, was promptly shot down by employees of
his own ministry.

There were times this year when Minister of Home Affairs
Syarwan Hamid cut an awkward figure as he tried to contend with
rapid political developments in the reform era.

Syarwan recently said the general election scheduled for June
7, 1999, must be free and fair.

He insisted that only through such elections can the present
government recover the people's lost confidence.

The mushrooming of new political parties was believed by many
to be sign of a democratization for Indonesia. Syarwan, however,
would be among the most important people in helping to ensure the
hope becomes reality.

Together with members of the House of Representatives, Syarwan
and his team from the ministry are currently deliberating three
political bills which will serve as the rules of the political
game starting next year.

Another surefooted member of the class is Minister of Justice
Muladi, a former member of the National Commission on Human
Rights who caused many people to be taken aback when he
introduced a ruling to regulate freedom of expression.

While the intention of the law per se was good -- namely to
protect citizens' rights to use their freedom of expression and
assembly -- the timing was highly criticized.

It was introduced less than a month before the November
Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly. Critics
immediately accused the government of seeking weapons to contend
with mounting street protests.

However, on the law's intent, Muladi has said:

"It does not restrict freedom of expression in public, or
reduce that freedom, much less forbid it, but it ensures the
effectiveness of public expression of opinion and guarantees
public security and order."

Muladi also said it was not meant to impinge on the rights and
fundamental freedoms of people, but to guarantee respect for the
rights of others.

There's another figure who appeared to be making a smooth
transition from an academic to a minister of environment for two
months under Soeharto's last administration and on to Minister of
Education and Culture. Juwono Sudarsono won the sympathy of the
students when he said in November: "Now it is the students who
regulate ministers, rather than the other way around."

Juwono reminded the students of the need for "safe, orderly
and controlled" street demonstrations to prevent casualties in
future protests.

Among the messages Juwono conveyed was the need for campuses
to "consolidate" so they would remain the basis of a true moral
movement. He warned them against politicians attempting to use
campuses as their basis to gain popular support, especially in
the upcoming general election.