DPR passes bill on military's seats in House

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) passed a bill on the reduction of military seats in the legislative body from 100 to 75 to be effective after the 1997 general elections.

All four factions in the House agreed in a plenary session presided over by Deputy House Speaker J.A. Katili that the move would be beneficial in the country's democratization and will more clearly define the political role of the Armed Forces (ABRI).

Attended by Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M., the session heard the factions' final view of the bill from their representatives.

Suparman Achmad from the ABRI faction said, "Seventy five seats are adequate but, as noted, the members should be selected from among the best officers to maintain the quality of the representation."

"The ABRI faction can accept the consensus (to pass the bill) graciously," he said.

The plan to reduce ABRI's legislative seats came after President Soeharto ordered the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in February to conduct research on a more suitable electoral system.

According to the law on socio-political organizations passed in 1985, 100 of the 500 DPR seats are reserved for ABRI. These House members do not take part in elections. A 1982 law gives legitimacy to ABRI's role as a socio-political player in Indonesia.

The remaining 400 seats are contested in the general election, held once every five years, by Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

Following the submission of the bill, which is in fact a revision of only one chapter of the 1985 law, discussions on the roles of ABRI in the House proceeded aplenty.

Some analysts, believing the military is "over-represented" in the House, said the reduction would help ensure greater democracy. Other analysts argued that democratization would ensue only if all related parties could establish fair general elections and eliminate violations and manipulation.

The draft law itself was given exceptional treatment in the House. Legislators adjusted their schedule in order to give it priority.

The PPP faction yesterday endorsed the bill but not before airing its long-time grievances over the implementation of the general elections and the general political climate.

Spokesman Nadhier Muhammad said the faction could approve the draft bill, but also demanded a revision of the existing laws on politics, which some consider favor Golkar over PPP and PDI, and on general elections.

Only with the revision can the nation have a more democratic political representation, encourage "the people's political competition" and discourage the establishment of a single-party system, he concluded.

The PPP faction also criticized the bureaucracy for unfairly favoring one political grouping in its activities over the others.

"This...taking sides attitude is burdening the nation which has to pay the political cost of protecting and ensuring that the grouping retains its majority position," Nadhier said, apparently referring to the ruling Golkar.

"It's our belief that all efforts to strive for a majority should be made proportionally by healthy competition," he said.

Similar calls for the revision on laws on political life were made by the PDI faction. Spokesman H. Subagyo also reminded the session that ABRI should retain its "neutral stance" and not take sides with any groupings.

Spokesman of Golkar faction Harisoegiman said that a revision on political law does not have to be accompanied by revision on other laws.

"There are laws which were revised one, two or three times, and there are laws which never underwent revision," he said. "The revision of a law is crucially determined by the prevailing situation".

Acknowledging that the bill carried great "political weight", Yogie said in his speech that the reduction of military seats in the House was meant to "adjust with the developing situation" in society.

"It's also to ensure that ABRI carries out its social and political roles that it develops the Pancasila democracy and contributes to problem solving activities," he said. (swe)