'Civil servants must vote for Golkar'

'Civil servants must vote for Golkar'

JAKARTA (JP): All government employees must vote for the
ruling political organization Golkar in general elections, the
secretary general of the Corps of Civil Servants (Korpri) said
yesterday.

"Without hesitation, I'd say Korpri members must channel their
political aspirations through Golkar," Waskito Reksosoedirdjo
told journalists at his office, Antara reported.

Waskito held a press conference to clear up confusion about
where the allegiance of government employees should lie following
contradictory statements by senior officials this week.

Korpri chairman Suryatna Soebrata said the law guarantees
government employees the freedom to vote for the party of their
choice. Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M., however,
countered that Korpri members who did not want to vote for Golkar
should resign from their jobs.

Waskito insisted yesterday that bureaucrats cannot support any
political group other than Golkar.

"If there are Korpri members who choose other than Golkar,
then what the Minister of Home Affairs said was right, get out of
Korpri," said Waskito, who is also an executive member of
Golkar's central committee.

"Those who violate the regulation will face disciplinary
action," he warned, without revealing the punishment.

Korpri has joined Golkar's election machinery in past
elections, sending its members to Golkar election rallies
nationwide.

Korpri is also one of the three main components in the make up
of the Golkar leadership. The other two are the Armed Forces and
mass organizations.

Korpri, which all civil servants must join, has more than six
million members, including two million people working at state
companies.

The two minority political parties, the United Development
Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party, have long complained
about the regulation requiring government employees to vote for
Golkar.

Korpri, at its 1994 congress, reiterated its support for
Golkar as stated in the Social, Political and Legal Guidelines.

"Korpri members are thus not free to choose anything except
Golkar," Waskito said.

The allegiance was forged because Korpri and Golkar share
similar ideals and concerns, including the need to maintain
vigilance against communists and extreme rightists, he said.

"Of the three social political organizations, that strategic
objective is only found in Golkar. There is a mutual strategy and
struggle between Korpri and Golkar," Waskito stated.

He underlined an article in Korpri's statute that stated that
members cannot "bring the aspirations or become members of
sociopolitical organizations that are opposed to or not in
conformity with the objectives, characters, identity and struggle
of Korpri." (mds)

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