'Class has nothing to do with Indonesian politics'

'Class has nothing to do with Indonesian politics'

JAKARTA (JP): The issue of class, according to State Minister
of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, has not played a
significant part in Indonesia's political development because the
country has no middle class.

"Everything here was done under the existing conditions. It
has nothing to do with the middle class," said Sarwono, who,
before joining President Soeharto's cabinet in 1988, was known as
a political analyst.

"There is no middle class in Indonesia, and therefore it is
difficult to assign it a role in Indonesian politics," he said
during a discussion with journalists on Saturday.

He said the political system in Indonesia is very different
from those found in the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea,
where the middle classes dominate and help to build democracy.

The Philippines' powerful and influential middle class allowed
the nation to rebuild as soon as strongman Ferdinand Marcos was
toppled in the 1980s, he said, adding, "We don't have that kind
of tradition."

What happened in the Philippines also happened in Central
Europe, though the middle class there was suppressed by the
Soviet Union for 40 years. "They (Central Europe) already had a
middle class. When the Soviet Union broke apart they moved
quickly to rebuild the infrastructure."

Sarwono, a former student activist, was one of the brains
behind the development of Golkar, the dominant political group,
in the 1980s. At one time he served as its secretary-general. He
was recruited by President Soeharto in 1988 as State Minister of
Administrative Reform. In 1993 he was appointed State Minister of
Environment.

Sarwono said political development in Indonesia cannot be
explained in terms of class. The ideology being fostered in this
country, he said, is one that places emphasis on national unity.

Asked if the government was bent on depoliticizing the masses,
Sarwono said this path of development was appropriate for
Indonesia.

"The concept of a floating mass essentially means that people
do not need to become members of political organizations unless
on voluntary basis. Is that so bad? I don't think so."

Under the current concept, the people only become politically
active every five years during the general elections.

Sarwono said the floating mass concept should be understood
in terms of the existing political context. "People who question
the concept do not understand this." (emb)