'Civil servants should give up voting rights'

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's six million civil servants should give up their right to vote in order to remain politically neutral, former home affairs minister Rudini said yesterday.

The civil service corps (Korpri) is not a mass organization, but the bureaucracy. It organizes elections, Rudini pointed out.

"May be it would be best if Korpri members do not join Golkar or the two other political parties," the retired Army general told The Jakarta Post. "Like members of the Armed Forces, Korpri members should give up their voting rights. This is so that they stay neutral and avoid the possibility of a conflict of interest during elections."

The political alliance of civil servants has been heatedly debated over the past week. Even though the law recognizes civil servants' freedom to choose any political party, Korpri insists its members vote for the ruling political organization Golkar.

Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M., Rudini's immediate successor, went as far as to propose that Korpri members who did not vote for Golkar resign.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said that government regulations, that guarantee public servants freedom to vote, reign supreme over Korpri's statutes that compel members to vote for Golkar.

Rudini recalled that during his term as home minister between 1988 and 1993, a post that made him the chief supervisor of all political organizations, he received complaints from the leaders of the minority political parties about the behavior of the bureaucracy.

They complained that very often government officials did not draw a line between their role as election organizers and voters, Rudini said.

The United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party, the two minority parties that compete with Golkar, said Korpri's support gives Golkar an unfair advantage.

Rudini did not say if Korpri should be allocated seats in the House of Representatives in return for giving up their right to vote.

Armed Forces members cannot vote under the current political system but automatically get 100 of the House's 400 seats. A recent law will reduce the seat allocation to 75 after the 1997 election.

Rudini argued that, in accordance with the civil servants' oath of office, the loyalty of government workers should first and foremost be to the elected government.

However, he said he fully understood Korpri leaders' insistence that members vote for Golkar because the two organizations share the same ideals and objectives.

Golkar chairman Harmoko said on Thursday that six million of the Golkar's 35 million card-holding members are from Korpri.

"That's practical politics," Rudini said commenting on the ability of Golkar to recruit Korpri members. "Don't blame it on Golkar." (aks)