Don't cheat people in election run-up

In the run-up to the general election in 2004, many political parties have been set up. About 224 political parties have been registered with the ministry of justice and human rights.

The emergence of a great number of political parties has led to mixed reactions. Those from minor political parties believe that setting up parties is the manifestation of man's right to organize.

Meanwhile, those from major parties believe that democracy allows anybody to set up political parties and contest the election. It must be borne in mind, though, that in a country where democracy is upheld there are clear rules of the game.

The Indonesian people are in a transitional period now. They are learning how to exercise democracy. The reform movement, evolving since the administration of former president B.J. Habibie, has brought about significant changes in a process of learning how to exercise democracy.

The euphoria of freedom prevails everywhere. Freedom is construed as absolute freedom including the establishment of political parties, although many of these parties do not really have any significant number of supporters.

While all this is good in terms of the reform movement, the establishment of political parties must not be made a pretext to obtain economic benefits by means of cheating the people. In the last general election, for example, some minor parties asked the home ministry and the provinces where they were based for their allotted funds. They said the money would be used for campaigning purposes. In reality, they never carried out any campaigns at all.

MAHENDRA PRABOWO

East Java