Experts insist civil servants can join political parties

Experts insist civil servants can join political parties

JAKARTA (JP): Constitutional law and political experts
insisted on Wednesday that the 1945 Constitution assures civil
servants and servicemen of their right to join political parties.

Rebuffing their political counterparts in the discussion on
the political bills here, the constitutional law scholars argued
that aside from reasons of human rights, the constitution
guarantees equal political rights for all citizens, including
civil servants and servicemen.

Sri Sumantri, a professor of Jayabaya University, slammed the
political bills that ban civil servants and soldiers from
politics.

"Civil servants and servicemen have the right to join the
existing political parties or establish their own and, therefore,
the bills need revision in accordance with the constitution.

The constitution stipulates that all citizens are guaranteed
their political rights and freedom to associate and speak.

To be consistent with the constitution, he said, the
controversial 1966 Provisional People's Consultative Assembly
decree that bans the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) should be
revoked.

The current law requires that civil servants and servicemen
retire before joining political parties.

Gde Panca Astawa, a constitutional law expert at the
Padjadjaran University in Bandung, said the bill fails to explain
why civil servants and servicemen are banned from political
parties.

"The bill must preserve equal rights for all citizens in
politics and provide adequate and logical reasons if it exempts
military servicemen and civil servants," he said.

Meanwhile, political experts defended the barring of civil
servants and servicemen from politics due to practical and
historical reasons.

Ramlan Surbakti from Airlangga University in Surabaya, East
Java, said civil servants and servicemen could exercise their
right to vote in general elections but they are not allowed to
actively involve themselves in political parties because it will
hamper their neutrality.

"It will be very dangerous if government officials and civil
servants are allowed to hold certain positions in a party or the
Indonesian Military is permitted to form its own party," he said.

He said the nation should learn from the New Order era during
which the military stood behind the ruling party Golkar and
servicemen were forced to vote for the party.

Maswadi Rauf from the University of Indonesia concurred and
said Indonesia would suffer a setback if the military is free to
join or set up its own party.

"The military's involvement in politics will certainly kill
civilian supremacy and we will have a military-style regime
again," he said.

Regarding the bill on the composition of the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR), House of Representatives (DPR) and
provincial and regency legislatures, the experts were also
divided over the revival of a ruling that allows a party to
withdraw its representatives and the composition of the proposed
regional representatives in the House.

Many defended a party's authority to recall its legislators in
the parliament while others were of the opinion that it would
give the parties more power than the House.

Maswadi said political parties should be authorized to
sideline their respective legislators who are considered unable
to channel their constituents' aspirations.

On the contrary, Bagir Manan, a constitutional law expert from
the Padjadjaran University, said the right to recall legislators
stipulated in the three political bills should be phased out
since the ruling would restrict legislators from being creative
and outspoken.

"Such a ruling is against the planned district system. A
decision to sack legislators means a political party ignores the
trust of constituents in the legislators," he said, adding that
once elected, legislators represent the people.

All the experts supported the planned "bicameral" or two-room
system in the parliament but they were divided over the
composition of the regional representatives.

The bill on the composition of the MPR, DPR and provincial and
regency legislatures regulates that the number of regional
representatives is 120 and they are to be elected directly in
general elections. (rms)