Civil servants and the election

Civil servants and the election

From Media Indonesia

Will this year's general election result be as expected? It seems that this year's election will not be different from the previous elections held within the New Order era. I wonder whether the election will follow the principles of luber (direct, public, free and secret) and jurdil (honest and fair).

Civil servants belong to the people. Consequently, civil servants should be neutral. But in reality, civil servants grouped under the Indonesian Civil Servants Corps (KORPRI) are leaning heavily towards Golkar. Loyalty is to the government and not any other party.

In the United States, a two-party system means election results fluctuate. This means the Republican party may win one election and the Democratic Party may be victorious at the next. But supposing the Republican party wins the election, should the whole civil service belong to that party? And if the country was ruled by the Democratic party, should civil servants be made to quit their jobs and be replaced by democrats?

It is only natural that every contestant wants to win the election. But in my opinion Golkar's wish to attain a single majority in the upcoming election is overenthusiastic.

The three election contestants belong to one nation. However, in the upcoming general election, every citizen has the right to vote for the best party. People can vote for any party, because each party is worthy. But one should not be encouraged to vote for a certain party. Let people have a choice.

ENDRA SYUARNA

Bekasi, West Java