Democratic yet effective government 'a challenge'
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
To have a working democracy and an effective government constitutes the biggest challenges today, says former defense minister Juwono Sudarsono.
Soeharto's 32-year ruling government was effective but authoritarian, Juwono said at a discussion following a book launch here Tuesday.
On the other hand, it was widely believed that Soeharto's predecessors B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri, who all ruled the country after the reform movement swept through the country in May 1998, had failed to set up effective administrations.
Juwono said Megawati, who had ruled the country since July last year, should start improving the effectiveness of her administration.
The spate of violence and regional upheaval throughout the country stemmed from the government's lack of effectiveness in the past four years, he said at the book launching entitled Toward a Democratic, Just and Plural Indonesia published by the Forum of Communication for National Unity (FKKB).
"There is nothing more frightening than the absence of a government like what happened four years ago," Juwono said, referring to the massive riots in May 1998 that claimed hundreds of lives.
To date the nation has yet to deal with the three-year-old Christian-Muslim conflict in Maluku as well the separatist movements in Aceh and Papua.
Other speakers at the discussion included publisher of the Kompas daily newspaper Jakob Oetama and noted economist Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
Jakob said the state administration was in dire need of high standards of moral practice, but ethics alone would not be effective without a political system to control the government.
"It needs a political system based on people's sovereignty, freedom, and judicature."
Sri Mulyani said that economic development would not always bring equal improvements to all members of society.
There would always be some who had more of an advantage than others, she said, adding that each country with its distinct social and political dimensions would adopt different developmental policies.
"A country with high social and political sensitivity will always seek an economic policy that brings equal distribution," said Mulyani.
In his opening remarks, FKKB chairwoman Rosita S. Noer said the discussion was a means to gauge the nation's readiness for a democratic political system after more than 50 years of authoritarian rule.
The 177-page book comprises ideas from various experts and scholars, including the late Harsja W. Bachtiar, Roeslan Abdulgani, economist Mubyarto, sociologist Selo Soemardjan, Juwono Sudarsono, Ryaas Rasyid, Mudji Sutrisno, and Khofifah Indar Parawansa.