Constructive opposition vital to government

Constructive opposition vital to government

By Aleksius Jemadu

BANDUNG (JP): The existence of an effective political
opposition force is essential to any democratic political system.
After all, political power has a natural tendency to sustain
itself. People in power, as a matter of course, rationalize their
actions and inactions in order to maintain popular support.

The fact that all major political parties in the House of
Representatives (DPR) are represented in President Abdurrahman
Wahid's cabinet has made it difficult the parties to act as a
force of opposition.

For instance, as the second largest party in the DPR, Golkar
cannot be expected to be critical of government policies
regarding the handling of corruption cases for, in effect, they
would be attacking their own colleague Marzuki Darusman, the
Attorney General.

Nor will the National Mandate Party (PAN) be too critical of
the government's financial policies as managed by their
colleague, Minister of Finance Bambang Sudibyo.

Extra-parliamentary forms of opposition such as mass rallies
and demonstrations are likely to continue to be employed.
However, political opposition against government policies
conducted in an agitative manner can easily be exploited by
irresponsible people in order to incite political riots.

Many would agree that in this new era of democracy the
Indonesian political system needs to develop a healthy opposition
culture, which can be defined as a civilized pattern of political
behavior in the service of opposing or countervailing
questionable government policies.

Repression against open debate for so long in our past has led
to an aggregation of political and economic issues which are too
complicated to be dealt with by the present government.

Indonesians need to realize that democracy is not just a
matter of building political institutions such as political
parties and general elections. No less important is what people
do with these institutions and whether they are motivated enough
to improve the quality of their performance.

The fact that President Abdurrahman Wahid has established
different councils for policy consultations such as the National
Economic Council and the National Council for Business
Development is an indication that the government needs critical
ideas from experts and professionals in formulating good economic
policy.

Because the current government is expected to manage the
universe of political and economic problems, it can easily lose
focus and appear to have no hierarchy of policy priorities, hence
the absolute necessity for a critical and constructive
oppositional force.

Freedom of speech and assembly cannot be repressed, therefore
Indonesians need to build a healthy culture of opposition. How
can we develop such a culture?

First, we have to abandon the misconception that all political
parties should be represented in the executive body. This would
complicate coordinations among ministers. On top of that,
ministers would compete for opportunities to increase the
economic appropriations of their respective parties.

Second, when political opposition is conducted through mass
rallies, political leaders should emphasize the power of rational
argument instead of anger and violence. In addition, the use of
this oppositional tactic -- rational argument -- can only be
effective when accompanied by sound logic and credible empirical
evidence.

Third, we have to strengthen the role of an independent and
critical press. Freedom of the press is a conditio sine qua non
in a democratic country.

There is a danger in that the press can become partisan and
subjective without regards for moral ethics and factual truth. We
hope that the Indonesian press realizes the strategic importance
of their noble task and that they act in a responsible manner.

Last but not least, political opposition should be conducted
within the existing rule of law. President Abdurrahman and Vice
President Megawati cannot be asked to step down just because some
political groups are not satisfied with certain government
policies. According to the 1945 Constitution, the President can
only be asked to step down in a Special Session of the Peoples'
Consultative Assembly proposed by the DPR.

As we build a healthy democracy including a robust culture of
opposition, we must remember that respecting law and order
constitutes the most essential part of democracy.

Aleksius Jemadu Ph.D is a lecturer at the School of
International Relations, Parahyangan Catholic University,
Bandung.