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)