Armed Forces should stay neutral: Kemal
JAKARTA (JP): A former senior military officer has joined the growing list of people demanding a neutral Armed Forces.
Lt. Gen. (ret) Kemal Idris, a former chief of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command who has become a vocal critic of the government, said yesterday after a ceremony to commemorate the command's 38th anniversary that the Armed Forces (ABRI) should return to being a group which does not lend support to any political group.
"The Armed Forces belongs to the people. It must stand above all groups and support all political groups which share its views," Kemal said.
ABRI officers have often dismissed arguments such as Kemal's on the grounds that ABRI is historically affiliated to the dominant political grouping Golkar.
Golkar, which has won each of the last five general elections, relies heavily on ABRI and the civil servants corps as its main supporters.
ABRI Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung said before the United Development Party's leadership meeting last week that the military would remain neutral but its wider family would vote for Golkar.
In Indonesia active military members do not vote but are guaranteed a number of seats in the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly. After this year's general election, scheduled for May 29, their House seats allocation will decrease from 100 to 75.
Recent research conducted by the government-run National Institute of Sciences recommended that ABRI should reduce its political role from a controlling one to eventually being only a backseat player in order to allow democracy to flourish.
The study said that ideally the military should be represented only in the consultative assembly, which comprises the 500 House members and 500 representatives from the regions and various groups.
Kemal defended the military's representation in the House, on the grounds that the ABRI members have the same rights to be involved in the decision-making process as civilians.
However he suggested a drastic reduction in the representation. "It could be 40, 30, or 20," Kemal said, but did not go into details.
A dual function doctrine allows the military to play a role in politics, and therefore its members can hold civilian posts both in the executive and legislative branches.
Army Chief Gen. R. Hartono, who also attended yesterday's ceremony, said there would be no changes in the Armed Forces' dual function.
"The dual function will stay forever. There is no way to reduce the Armed Forces' political role. If necessary, instead, we will be more active than we are now," he said.
Kemal also said the Armed Forces needed to apply more lenient approaches when it came to settling societal problems. "This approach is important to understand the people's aspirations," he said. (amd)