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.