'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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