Edi warns of exploitation of the poor

Edi warns of exploitation of the poor

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat
warned yesterday that the disparity between the rich and poor
poses one of the biggest threats to national security.

Although poverty is a major problem for the nation, poor
people are not the source of the threat, the retired Army general
told a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission I,
which oversees security affairs.

Instead, the source of danger comes from the "excessive
exploitation of the weak and powerless by the strong and
affluent," he said in reviewing the national security situation
with the legislators.

He cited two types of exploitation commonly found in
Indonesia: "The exploitation of workers who are paid meager and
inhuman wages for their sweat, and the exploitation of poor
farmers whose lands were procured for very small compensations."

These two types of exploitations have been the source of
tensions, disputes, conflicts and clashes in the past, he said.

The minister said the more affluent members of society should
join in the government's endeavor to eliminate poverty and to
narrow the gap between the rich and poor.

At last count, nearly 26 million out of Indonesia's population
of 190 million are categorized as living below the poverty line.
The government has designed a number of programs to help these
people out of their plight.

Edi said that in addition to the disparity between the rich
and poor, there is also a widening gap between the level of
development from one island and another. This disparity also
needs to be addressed to preserve national security, he said.

"Such a gap could sow discontent which in turn would affect
the unity of the nation," he said.

The minister said a communist revival remains a latent danger
to national security 30 years after communism was banned in
Indonesia.

The recent disclosure that some leaders of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) have had past communist links has
confirmed what government officials have suspected all along
about the possibility of a communist come back, he said.

"We should be grateful to those who have the courage to come
forward with the evidence of past communist links of some
politicians," he said.

PDI, the smallest of three political parties in Indonesia, was
rocked by a scandal late last year following the allegation that
as many as 300 of its leaders had past communist links. Since
then, a number of discontented party leaders have formed their
own central executive board to challenge the leadership of
chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Edi said he agreed with the proposal that all executives of
political parties should be screened for possible past communist
links before they are allowed to assume their post.

The special screening is already imposed on would-be civil
servants and new military recruits. Politicians running for a
seat in the House of Representatives are also required to be
screened. But politicians holding executive jobs in political
organizations are not obliged to be screened.

On the latest PDI bickering, Edi questioned whether the
politicians were matured enough to assume the responsibility that
comes with democracy.

In any case, he warned that the conflict in PDI is also
threatening national unity.

The government has continued to recognize Megawati's
leadership of PDI but has not taken any action to disband the
rival board led by Jusuf Merukh. (rms)