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.