Does the elite want to wreck Indonesia?

Does the elite want to wreck Indonesia?

By Omar Halim

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has been going through remarkable
changes ever since May 1998 when president Soeharto stepped down.

Through this unprecedented era Indonesia should be
transforming itself politically, from an authoritarian to a
democratic system, and economically, from a porous and rotten
system to one that is efficient, dynamic and with a sound
foundation, to provide full opportunities for most Indonesians to
increase their well-being.

The tasks are therefore enormous. First, there is a need to
reverse the disintegrative, centrifugal process caused by past
central government policies which were based on greed and
arrogance and which completely disregarded the people's
interests, especially in outlying regions.

This task was made particularly more difficult by the policy
of president B.J. Habibie, which led to the loss of our 27th
province, East Timor.

Second, reform leaders must change the political system and
institutions to make officials completely and directly
accountable to the people. Pressure pioneered by the students had
set this course and the 1999 special session of the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) started this process of change.

The remaining important changes required are the establishment
of: a direct presidential election system; a totally elected
legislative representation system; an optimum decentralization
system, giving the people substantial say over the affairs of
their region but with due regard to the nation's interest; a
completely independent judiciary and a professional police force
which has integrity to uphold the law based on equal rights; and
a highly effective military to safeguard territorial integrity.

Third, further reform in the economy is required to eliminate
the vestiges of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) to
enable effective international competition. Equally important is
for the government to orient economic facilities to stimulate
economic activities of the common people, unlike in the past.

These tasks should be met through close and concerted
cooperation of all reform political leaders at the central,
regional or local levels. At the center, the setting is
established appropriately with Amien Rais as speaker of the
Assembly, Akbar Tandjung as speaker of the House of
Representatives and Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri
as President and Vice President.

The legislative and executive branches of government are under
the control of reform leaders. They are responsible for
completing reform, at the constitutional or legal level, and in
policy-making and implementation.

Whatever the shortcomings of the procedure which elected the
President, Abdurrahman was elected legitimately and he was indeed
the most appropriate person to lead change. He is a highly
respected social and political leader who has the best ability to
bring together all the segments of the reform movement and the
old regime.

The other leaders were either tainted by their association
with the old regime, which remains quite powerful, or
uncompromisingly opposed to the former regime. Again, one of the
first tasks of the present leaders is to jointly engineer
national reconciliation to reverse the disintegrative process.

This means bringing together all conflicting parties to build
a new Indonesia. The complexity of the disintegration problem is
reflected by the various conflicts that have erupted based on
differences in regional, religious and ethnic affiliation, and in
diverse economic and political interests.

These conflicts, superimposed on 210 million people spread
across a 5,000 kilometer-wide archipelago, have posed a great
danger to the country's unity. Where the conflicts were a result
of, or accompanied by, systematic atrocities inflicted on the
population, justice has to be served.

But in the context of national reconciliation, due
consideration must be made for those perpetrators who have
admitted their guilt to the victims and the rest of the nation;
who express deep regret over their past deeds; who vow not to
allow such deeds to occur again; and, if feasible, provide
compensation to the victims.

The nation has to find a way to cleanse itself of past
mistakes and start anew to build a truly harmonious, just and
prosperous future.

Can Indonesians attain this goal? The behavior and deeds of
their political leaders, the reformists and those from the old
regime, cast grave doubt on their ability to do so. The
reformists do not seem to realize their important duty and
responsibility, which is to steer the country away from ruin.

They behave as if as there is no tomorrow and that now is the
opportunity for them, by hook or by crook, to grab power. Almost
every time a shortcoming of the present government surfaces --
mainly due to inexperience -- the other reform leaders have been
talking about impeaching the President!

Do they think the highly difficult reform process can be jump-
started by a new President every year? In addition, KKN, which
the reform leaders are supposed to have banished, seems alive and
well.

If all the hubbub is driven by the need to organize political
campaigns in 2004, can't the Assembly and the House establish
clear guidelines now and provide sufficient resources for
political parties to campaign equally and fairly?

The catchword among the reform leaders in the executive or
legislative branches should be consultation and concerted
cooperation to turn this country around. Otherwise, they will be
accountable to the people for an aborted reform process or a
disintegrated nation.

Meanwhile the leaders of the old regime should be made to
realize that, as Indonesians, they will have an important role to
play once the "level playing field" has been set by the
reformists. They could come back and contribute significantly to
the building of a new country. This will be possible through
national reconciliation, which must start as soon as possible.

The choices are very clear for all of our political leaders.
Either (a) unselfishly cooperate fully to complete reform so
everyone, abiding by the new rules, will have the chance to help
build the new nation or (b) continue to sabotage and elbow each
other out of the way until the nation they are supposed to be
serving disintegrates and falls prey to outsiders. The choice is
theirs.

The writer, a former senior staff member at the United
Nations, is based in Jakarta.