Assembly reluctant to make changes

Assembly reluctant to make changes

By Dwi Atmanta

JAKARTA (JP): Two months of deliberation in the People's
Consultative Assembly concluded last week with an inevitable
resolution that silenced calls for a political overhaul.

Debates did mark the Assembly sessions all the way along, but
it was an obvious, one-sided tug-of-war pitting two minority
factions -- the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) -- against the dominant Golkar and its
traditional allies -- the powerful Armed Forces and regional
representatives factions.

Now that the Assembly has unanimously voted in favor of
Golkar's draft 1998/2003 State Policy Guidelines, although with
some revision, and against minority parties-sponsored motions for
separate decrees in support of major political changes, the next
general session of the Assembly in March looks set to serve as a
rubber stamp.

The 1,000-member Assembly will also elect a president and vice
president in March.

PPP and PDI factions brought a total of eight motions on
Assembly internal rule changes, Pancasila democracy, economic
democracy, clean government, judicial review, human rights
protection, election regulation changes and revocation of the
controversial floating mass policy. All of them were ruled out.

Some persistence was demonstrated by Moslem-based PPP in its
bid for election rule changes and revocation of the floating mass
policy, but it was worn down and buckled just a few hours before
the first stage of the Assembly's general session concluded last
Thursday.

PPP also forced the Golkar-led coalition to stretch muscles
and accept the inclusion of nondenominational faiths in the
religious affairs section of the policy guidelines, rather than
in the cultural affairs section like in the previous guidelines.

This issue had been a thorn in the Moslem community's side,
and the resolution was welcomed by many Moslem leaders.

In contrast, Golkar sponsored just one proposal which gives
the next president extra power. As widely expected, the motion
received unanimous approval from the other four factions in the
Assembly.

However, PPP legislator Muhammad Buang hailed the manner with
which the deliberation had proceeded, saying that on paper mighty
Golkar would not have broken into a sweat if it was forced to the
vote on every decision.

"How can the minority factions make a real difference? But the
uniqueness of our democracy is that a minority is equal with the
majority," he said.

A dejected PDI representative, Ismunandar, criticized the
Assembly's refusal to accommodate demands for changes to the
country's political format.

"There is little hope of change as long as a certain political
organization insists on winning a majority of votes in the
general election."

He was referring to Golkar, which won 74.5 percent of the
votes in last year's polls. The victory earned it 325 seats in
the House of Representatives and an additional 263 seats in the
Assembly.

Each of the House's 500 members holds a seat in the Assembly.

Political analyst Bachtiar Aly responded coolly to the outcome
of the Assembly's general session, saying that it in fact
represented the present government's will rather than that of the
people.

"Many public aspirations have been raised in support of
change, but the Assembly is under the control of the executives
so it fails to heed the demands," Bachtiar, a member of Golkar
faction's team of assistants, said.

He blamed the Assembly's failure to inspire political change
on the recruitment of the members of the highest law-making body.

"Closeness to certain figures, rather than quality, is more
likely to earn a legislative candidate a House seat," Bachtiar
said.

But Golkar legislator Rully Chairul Azwar refuted allegations
that the ruling political group opposed political reform.

"We have repeatedly said that we want a gradual adjustment,"
he said.