Assembly to proceed smoothly: Moetojib
Assembly to proceed smoothly: Moetojib
JAKARTA (JP): Chief of the State Intelligence Coordinating
Body Lt. Gen. Moetojib has predicted that the People's
Consultative Assembly session next March will proceed smoothly,
despite some irresponsible groups' attempts to disrupt it even
now.
Speaking to reporters before attending an end of year plenary
cabinet meeting at the State Secretariat Wednesday, Moetojib
expressed confidence the government would be in full control over
the political and security situation.
He also warned people against the influence of certain
"problematic groups" seeking to disrupt the Assembly to further
their own political ambitions.
"We must be cautious against those who want to fish in murky
waters," he said, echoing President Soeharto's strong warning
earlier last week against those seeking profit by exploiting the
current economic turmoil.
"They want to manipulate and blow up the government's
shortcomings, as if the situation were very severe already,"
Moetojib said. He did not elaborate on or identify the groups he
was blasting.
In March 1998 the Assembly will elect a new president and vice
president and endorse the state policy guidelines.
Analysts have noted that the current economic and political
situation will remain fragile until the Assembly meeting next
year.
"Ministers may hesitate to make fundamental policies now
because their terms will end in March," said a senior political
analyst who preferred anonymity.
In December last year, Moetojib predicted that the 1997
political, economic and social affairs situations would remain
under control.
Last year, he predicted that obstacles might also come from
foreign pressures on Indonesia's policy on East Timor and on the
country's human rights record.
Moetojib, a former governor of the National Resilience
Institute, said yesterday that so far, the irresponsible groups
were still unable to provoke people into rebelling against the
government.
"They have started to 'work'. However, they have not collected
arms. We will take action against them if they break the law,"
Moetojib remarked.
When journalists pressed him to identify the groups, Moetojib
said: "There are a lot of problematic groups who continue
(exaggerating the national situation). There are also extremist
groups who do not want Pancasila as our state ideology, but want
to establish a state based on a (certain) religion."
He acknowledged that the ongoing economic chaos might have
adversely affected the country's social and political condition.
Therefore, all government officials must work hard to bolster the
public's trust in the government, he said.
"All governments in the world have shortcomings. We must be
united in supporting our government, because when we are united,
we will be able to resolve any problem," he said. (prb)