Calls to amend political laws

Calls to amend political laws

JAKARTA (JP): Many of the political parties which were not
represented in the House of Representatives gave the thumbs down
to the three new pieces of political legislation on Friday, but
none of them talked about boycotting the elections slated for
June.

The National Mandate Party (PAN) under prominent Moslem
scholar Amien Rais, believed to be one of the more serious
challengers to Golkar's rule in the next polls, urged President
B.J. Habibie to return the bills to the House for amendment.

Leaders of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) under
Megawati Soekarnoputri were still meeting on Friday night to
determine their stance on the new laws.

The Indonesian Uni-Democracy Party (PUDI) under Sri Bintang
Pamungkas said the legislation should be reviewed by the Supreme
Court to determine whether it has passed constitutional tests.

The House passed the bills on general elections, political
parties and on the composition of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR), the House of Representatives (DPR) and the
provincial and regency legislatures on Thursday, the deadline
imposed by the government of President B.J. Habibie.

The laws will become effective as soon as Habibie signs them,
which is expected to happen after a one-month "socialization"
period.

Although Habibie has promised an honest and fair election, the
bills still bore strong imprints of Golkar and the Armed Forces,
which together dominate the House and therefore controlled the
outcome of the deliberations.

The other two factions in the House -- the United Development
Party (PPP) and the government-supported Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) faction -- played insignificant roles.

Closely watching from the sidelines were the new emerging
political parties vying to contest the election, but their
demands and objections often fell on deaf ears as the House
rushed to complete the bills on time.

PAN's biggest objection to the bill was against the allocation
of 38 DPR seats with voting rights to the Armed Forces (ABRI),
Secretary-general Faisal Basri told reporters at the party
headquarters on Friday.

He proposed that ABRI representatives in the DPR should not
have any voting rights to ensure that the military remained
politically neutral on all issues.

The seat allocation for the military has canceled out all the
progress the new legislation represented in promoting democracy,
he said.

PAN objected to the government ruling that effectively still
allowed civil servants to join political parties without giving
up their government jobs, by taking a long leave of absence and
receiving basic pay for up to five years.

Faisal said the government should instead rule that civil
servants be given only one month to decide on whether to retain
their job or take up a political career.

The current regulation still incorporated loopholes for
government officials to abuse their positions for the benefit of
certain political parties, he said.

Another major concern of PAN was the lack of regulations to
limit election campaign contributions, or what is popularly known
in Indonesia as the practice of "money politics".

Faisal said the government should draft a regulation
stipulating penalties for those involved in money politics.

The Union and Justice Party (PKP), formed two weeks ago by
Golkar dissenters, said the new legislation had loopholes,
particularly on civil servants's political rights and insisted
that they were open to possible manipulation during the
elections.

PKP deputy chairman Sutradara Ginting said the three-month
period allowed for civil servants to decide on whether to take up
political careers or to keep their jobs gave them ample time to
use state facilities for their party ahead of the election.

Sutradara questioned the decision to continue paying civil
servants who take up political careers. "How much will the
government have to fork out if half of the four million civil
servants join political parties?" he asked.

He warned that failure to ensure civil servants neutrality
could spark a public outcry.

PKP questioned the presence of government officials in the
election committee. "The government should only act as a
facilitator in the election," Sutradara said.

The Crescent and Star Party (PBB), a Moslem party under
constitutional law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra, said that in
spite of their shortcomings, the new acts still offered the
nation the best hope for a free and fair election.

PBB deputy chairman Fadli Zon said the legislation had
undergone a long process, and the public were consulted, before
they were endorsed by the House on Thursday.

PBB had also opposed the allocation of seats to ABRI but it
was now ready to accept that decision in the hope that the
election in June would be held fairly, Fadli said

PUDI chairman Sri Bintang Pamungkas said he was very
disappointed with the way the bills were deliberated,
particularly the way the House ignored the aspirations that
existed among the people. (rms)