'Employees may vote for any party'

'Employees may vote for any party'

JAKARTA (JP): Government employees are free to vote according
to their personal choice in general elections, Minister/State
Secretary Moerdiono said yesterday.

Moerdiono said government regulation No. 20/1976, which allows
civil servants to join any of the three political organizations,
implies that civil servants do not have to vote for Golkar in
general elections.

He conceded that the Civil Service Corps (Korpri), to which
all government employees are obliged to belong, reaffirmed its
support for the ruling political group at its last congress and
expected its members to vote accordingly. However, he suggested
that the Korpri position was not binding on its members.

"In my opinion, the government regulation is higher than the
congress of an organization," he said, speaking to journalists
after attending a hearing with the Commission II of the House of
Representatives.

There has been confusion in the past week about the issue,
with senior officials making conflicting statements on whether or
not civil servants can vote according to their conscience.

Korpri Secretary General Waskito Reksosoedirdjo said last week
that any member of the organization who did not vote for Golkar
should resign from their post.

Waskito defended his position by underlining that only Golkar,
among the three political organizations contesting the elections,
shared the same ideals and objectives of national stability and
development as Korpri.

Regulation

Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. has expressed the
same view, while acknowledging that there is no regulation
requiring government employees to vote for the ruling political
group.

The two minority parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) and the United Development Party (PPP), have long
complained about the way that the government has compelled its
employees to vote for Golkar only.

PDI chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Saturday that
civil servants are not special citizens. "They share similar
rights and responsibilities as other citizens, and these are
regulated by the 1945 Constitution," she said in Palu, Central
Sulawesi.

Megawati said those who still have doubts about the issue
should refer to the text of the constitution, Antara reported.

Aisyah Amini of the PPP yesterday questioned the way in which
the government has prevented its employees from joining other
political organizations. "Is this what we mean by 'Pancasila
democracy?'" she asked.

Moerdiono said that Article 2 of the 1976 regulation states
that a government employee in a key position must have the
permission of his or her superior before joining a political
organization. Those who do not hold important positions are
simply required to inform their superiors.

"The regulation treats government employees not only as state
functionaries but also as citizens," he said.

Commitment

Separately, Yogie yesterday insisted that while the regulation
guarantees freedom to vote at elections, Korpri members are
expected to abide by the commitment of their organization.

"Government employees are automatically Korpri's members, who
have to follow the corps' regulation," he told reporters after
opening a four-day conference entitled "The Role of Local
Governments in Implementing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Declaration," held by the Asia-Pacific Section of the
International Union of Local Authorities (IULA).

Those who oppose the organization's commitment should raise
their view at Korpri's next congress, Yogie said.

An article of Korpri's statutes states that members cannot
"bring the aspirations or become members of socio-political
organizations that are opposed to or not in conformity with the
objectives, character, identity and struggle of Korpri."

Korpri, with more than six million members, has worked with
Golkar's election machinery in past elections, sending its
members to Golkar election rallies nationwide.

Korpri is also one of the three main components of the Golkar
leadership. The other two are the Armed Forces and mass
organizations. (imn/yns/swe)