Expert asserts need for election-funding law
JAKARTA (JP): A law stipulating transparency in election campaign fund-raising is urgently needed in Indonesia, according to a noted political and economic observer.
Christianto Wibisono, the director of the Indonesian Business Center, told The Jakarta Post: "The United States already has regulations governing financial contributions by private companies to political parties' campaigns.
"And even then there are loopholes that can be exploited. Imagine what will become of a country that doesn't have a single law to regulate such contributions," he said.
Christianto was commenting on a recent statement by Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo that the political influence of businesspeople has grown to the extend that they are able to dictate politicians' and bureaucrats' agendas.
"More and more businesspeople now control politicians, and even dictate bureaucrats," Siswono said when addressing a discussion held by the Indonesian National Youth Committee Friday.
"In the past, it's politicians and bureaucrats who dictated whether a company could survive, now it's the businessmen that control officials," he said. He predicted that Indonesia would see more businesspeople becoming legislators and ministers in the future.
Siswono and Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief were both successful businessmen before being appointed ministers in 1988 and 1993 respectively.
Christianto also commented on the recent debates in the United States about the contributions by Indonesian businessman James Riady to President Bill Clinton's election campaigns.
"We need to regulate, for instance, the maximum amount businesspeople can give to political parties' election funds," Christianto said. He added that one of the many ways that businesspeople could assert control over politicians and bureaucrats is through donating to campaign funds.
If such laws existed, he pointed out, people, especially businesspeople would then give donations to political parties simply out of sympathy with the party's cause as they would be barred from capitalizing on the donation.
"It's normal for businesspeople to be concerned about profits in the future. But there should be a law to prevent them from banking on their relationships with politicians to help their business.
"It's not surprising that businesspeople control politicians because it happens in many other countries. It is natural that politics and business are tightly connected," he said.
Political observer Aribowo from the Surabaya-based Airlangga University and social observer Y.B. Mangunwijaya agreed with the need for laws regulating election campaign fund-raising as a way to check businesspeople's influence over politicians and bureaucrats.
"There's a long history of businesspeople influencing politicians and bureaucrats, including in Indonesia," Aribowo said. He pointed out that the practice began here during the Old Order.
Mangunwijaya, a Catholic priest better known as Romo (Father) Mangun, said the absence of a law on the issue had left the domestic political arena dominated by ""political villains."
"It keeps us away from the ideals of the country that our founding fathers gave birth to," he said.
Both Mangunwijaya and Aribowo agreed that even more important is the establishment of a true rule of law, a strong legislature, and social and political control being exercised by the press and other pressure groups.
The government also provides funding for the campaigns of the three general election contestants -- the ruling Golkar and the two minority parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party and the United Development Party. (26)