Civil servants free to join parties
JAKARTA (JP): In an apparent effort to maintain the support of four million civil servants, the faction of the dominant Golkar, which has declared it will be a formal political party, insisted on Wednesday during deliberations on a political law that civil servants be free to join the political parties of their choice.
Two other factions in the House of Representatives -- the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) -- wanted civil servants barred from parties. The Armed Forces (ABRI) faction suggested that such membership be decided on a voluntary basis.
Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid said in the session that keeping civil servants out of politics was meant to make the bureaucracy neutral and thus pave the way for a free and just election in line with reform demands.
"Civil servants are still allowed to vote in elections," Syarwan said.
The deliberation on the issue on Wednesday was finally left pending. Chairman of the Special Committee of the House (DPR) Abu Hasan Sazili later said voting was possible. The Committee has until Jan. 28 to deliberate the draft bills on parties, elections and the function and composition of the legislative bodies.
Sazili, a Golkar legislator, said another issue the faction would also insist on calling for a vote on was its proposal that every political party makes the state ideology Pancasila their guiding organizational principle. This issue was also left pending Tuesday as factions differed on the subject.
The Special Committee consists of 52 representatives from Golkar, 16 from PPP, five from PDI and 14 from the ABRI faction.
The subject of civil servants was related to Article 10 clause 2 of the government-sponsored draft bill on political parties.
"Civil servants and ABRI members cannot become members or executives of political parties," the draft states.
Previously civil servants were also not allowed to join parties but Golkar, the government said, was a party but a grouping. Civil servants are enlisted in the Corps of Civil Servants of the Republic of Indonesia (Korpri), which is a "family member" of Golkar apart from the Armed Forces.
Following its recent congress Golkar announced it would be a political party for the purpose of next year's elections.
Golkar said Wednesday it agreed Armed Forces personnel should not join parties, but it suggested civil servants be allowed "for the sake of human rights".
Minister Syarwan had said the Article was established to fend off criticisms of the "monoloyalty" principal of civil servants to Golkar. In each election since 1977, Golkar, has virtually ensured the votes of the nationwide bureaucracy and their family members of voting age. Civil servants have complained of risks to their jobs if they dared to vote otherwise, claiming that the supposedly secret votes could be traced to those casting them.
While PPP and PDI supported the government's stance, Golkar legislator Mujib Rohmat cited human rights guaranteed through Decree No. 17 of the People's Consultative Assembly on Human Rights which defines freedom to assemble and organize.
PPP legislator Abduh Paddare and PDI's YB Wiyanjono reminded everybody of the potential abuse of state facilities, if civil servants are allowed to join political parties.
Another Golkar legislator, Soerjadi Setiawan, said there should no longer be fear that one party could manipulate the bureaucracy to serve its own interests, as the elections would be jointly organized by the government and contesting political parties. Prapto Prastianto of ABRI supported Golkar's argument. (aan)