Election fever, improper focus

Election fever, improper focus

Vice President Hamzah Haz has declared that if he goes on the
campaign trail for the 2004 general elections, he will do this
not in his capacity as the vice president of the country, but as
general chairman of the United Development Party (PPP). For that
purpose he plans to take leave of his vice presidential duties
and will not make use of whatever facilities he has been accorded
by the state.

But even such a friendly promise has provoked unexpected
reactions of disapproval. Most commentators still consider Hamzah
Haz's attitude as being incompatible with his official position
as vice president of the country. He should instead first
relinquish his post and then be allowed to assume the presidency
of his party if he wishes to take part in the campaign.

The law on general elections does not provide for highly
placed politicians like Hamzah Haz to take leave from their state
duties in order to be able to go on campaigning for a party.

The matter has now become a controversial one, which
has occupied the minds of most politicians and political
commentators in recent weeks. However, what the general public is
most annoyed about, is the fact that the politicians are already
thinking and speaking of the general elections which will not
take place until 2004 instead of focusing their attention on more
urgent matters like the secessionist movements in several
provinces demanding more self determination over their income.

Now the public is waiting for the government to announce
further reduction of official rates and tariffs after the rupiah
rate against the U.S. dollar has been showing stability with a
strengthening trend prevailing (about Rp 9,000 per dollar). Now
that President Megawati is on another foreign trip -- to some
European countries, the public is grumbling about the diminishing
attention on the part of the government to the plight of the
poorer sections of the population.

The people are demanding that the government should only
tackle critical issues like the demand for better payments of
workers according to the standard provisions in each region and
more essentially to reduce the number of unemployed people of
about 40 million in total.

GANDHI SUKARDI

Jakarta