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)