Former cabinet minister calls for immediate reform

Former cabinet minister calls for immediate reform

JAKARTA (JP): Former cabinet minister Siswono Yudohusodo
stressed the necessity of immediate political and economic
reforms yesterday, indicating that a cabinet reshuffle may be
needed to help defuse the national crisis.

"Seeing the deterioration in the quality of life in the
social, economic and political fields, immediate reform has
become a must. There are no other alternatives," said the former
minister of transmigration at a seminar on reform organized by
Nasional University.

He said the people were losing confidence in the government
and in certain issues, the government was not even respected
anymore.

"The current crisis cannot be defused by an administration
which lacks credibility and is without the people's support," he
said, adding that the image of the Armed Forces also had
deteriorated compared to a decade ago.

He cited corruption among government officials, nepotism in
the recruitment of House of Representatives members and the
appointment of government and military officials as having
contributed to the deterioration of public confidence in the
government.

He also attacked the national car program, saying that it had
tarnished the country's image.

"When the program began, PT Timor Putra National imported
40,000 units of Korean-made cars with tax breaks. At home, the
cars' Korean brand was changed to Timor. It's an immoral deed.
Then, in order to cover that negative impression, it was said
that the cars were made by Indonesian workers sent to Korea,
although the Indonesian workers were really employed at a glass
factory," he said.

Siswono, also a businessman, warned that economic reform was
urgent.

"In certain fields, reform is a must because delay could spark
demands for drastic changes that could turn into a revolution,"
he said.

Concrete steps

Siswono suggested concrete steps the government should take in
carrying out economic and political reforms.

He stressed that the government must consistently comply with
the IMF-sponsored reform package. "The government's hesitation to
implement the program in the past has contributed to the
prolonged economic crisis," he said.

A reshuffle of the current cabinet may be necessary to regain
public confidence in the government, he said.

Siswono said ministers not committed to the eradication of
corruption, collusion and nepotism should be replaced.

The government should reconcile with critics and possibly
accommodate them in a reshuffled cabinet to strengthen national
solidarity, he said.

Concerning presidential succession, he said President Soeharto
should be replaced in 2003 by the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) because he would be 82, an age considered too old for the
post.

"However, a hasty replacement of the President and Vice
President is also believed by some as a way to enable the nation
to quickly solve existing problems because it would be effective
in winning new government legitimacy," he said.

Another step should include the greater empowerment of the
state audit agency while auditing the assets of government
officials. The agency should also issue regulations banning
families of officials from doing business with their own
departments.

The review of key laws, such as for elections, on political
organizations, on state legislative bodies and provincial and
regency councils and the establishment an antimonopoly law would
be necessary, he said.

He said the MPR should also issue a decree limiting
presidential terms of office.

The proportional election system should be changed to a
district system in the next general elections for the House of
Representatives and the MPR, he said. On top of this, the
elections should be fair and democratic.

He said the government should take clear, transparent and
integrated steps in handling cases of abducted activists in order
to regain public confidence.

"One main task of the government is to protect all citizens
and make them to feel safe," he said.

The government should learn from these cases that it is of
great importance to uphold human rights, he said. (rms)