ABRI seats still being disputed

ABRI seats still being disputed

JAKARTA (JP): The issue of the number of nonelected seats in
the legislature the Armed Forces (ABRI) will be allocated
promises to remain controversial as the Jan. 28 deadline to
endorse the political bills currently being deliberated in the
House of Representatives quickly approaches.

The chairman of the working committee deliberating the bill on
the structure of the House, the People's Consultative Assembly
and provincial and regency legislatures, claimed factions were
close to an agreement on the number of nonelected seats to be
allocated to the Armed Forces.

Chairman Abu Hasan Sazili said on Saturday that the United
Development Party (PPP) faction had agreed to allocate five
percent of the proposed 500 seats in the lower House to ABRI, up
from its original proposal of two percent.

He said that Golkar proposed between a five percent and eight
percent allocation, while the government and the ABRI faction
proposed an eight percent allocation. The faction of the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) is expected to agree with the
majority on the issue.

However, on Sunday, the leader of the PPP faction in the
House, Zarkasih Nur, denied such an agreement from his faction.

"No, it's not true. We agree that ABRI needs to make its
presence effective in the House, but assuming that there will be
10 House commissions with two members from each faction on the
commissions, it will be enough for ABRI to have 20 seats," he
told The Jakarta Post.

Zarkasih said his faction would strive to reduce "to the
minimum" the number of nonelected seats in the House, "for the
sake of justice and to enable the produced laws to be
accommodative of public aspirations."

Sazili also said PPP, ABRI and Golkar had promised
"flexibility" when final discussions on the issue begin.

"We have already agreed to be flexible and accommodative on
the issue," he said. "The actual number of seats for ABRI is no
longer a crucial issue."

Along with the question of the political role of civil
servants, the number of seats to be allocated to ABRI has proved
to be an obstacle in the deliberations of the three political
bills. The People's Consultative Assembly, in its special session
last November, agreed to reduce gradually ABRI's presence in the
House.

The decision came as the Armed Forces' reputation plummeted
following revelations of atrocities and human rights violations
during the 32 years of Soeharto's New Order regime. Calls for the
military to limit its involvement in politics have continued to
mount.

Overcome

Andi M. Mallarangeng, a member of the government team drawing
up the political bills, confirmed that the House factions had
overcome most difficulties as they move toward accepting the
draft law.

However, he revealed that a trade-off had been arranged
between the factions. PPP will yield to ABRI and Golkar on the
issue of the number of seats for ABRI, in exchange for ABRI and
Golkar's support in PPP's campaign to keep civil servants out of
politics.

Faction leaders have agreed to drop the question of civil
servants' political rights from the bill on political parties. A
government decree will soon be issued on the matter.

"The government is expected to be consistent in its stance
(for a neutral bureaucracy), but also flexible in handling
government officials who want to be involved in political
parties," he said.

"Government officials and civil servants would in general be
kept neutral, and only those who have secured permission from
their superiors will be allowed to be active in politics," Andi
said.

The last obstacle remaining in the political bills is the
question of whether voting in general elections would take place
at the regency level or the provincial level. Golkar is thought
to have the upper hand if House members are elected at the
regency level because village chiefs constitute a strong system
of support for the group -- a legacy of Golkar's role during the
New Order regime.

Andi believed even this last question would be settled
amicably and smoothly.

Andi, who participated in deliberations on the three political
bills, expressed his optimism that the House would meet the Jan.
28 deadline for approving the bills, and that the general
election would be held on June 7.

Meanwhile, Ichlasul Amal, the rector of the University of
Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, praised the three political bills for
accommodating most of the people's aspirations.

"The most importance thing is that the three bills can be
passed into laws and the general election be held on time so that
we may immediately set up a legitimate and democratic
government," he said.

He predicted a bumpy ride for Golkar in the election,
especially in the densely populated Java and Madura where "people
can no longer be fooled".

"Those who live outside of Java may vote for Golkar because
they have yet to realize its past sins," Amal said.

The front-runners in the election, Amal predicted, would be:
Amien Rais' National Mandate Party which enjoys the support of
the 28 million-strong Muhammadiyah Islamic organization;
Abdurrahman Wahid's National Awakening Party which is supported
by the 30 million-strong Nadhlatul Ulama organization; and the
Megawati Soekarnoputri led faction of the splintered Indonesian
Democratic Party. Each of these parties can be expected to win
between 15 percent and 20 percent of the vote, he said.
(rms/44/aan)