Former student activists frustated by reform results

Former student activists frustated by reform results

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Seven years after the fall of former authoritarian leader
Soeharto, there has been little improvement in people's welfare
and law enforcement, former student activists say.

"There were two things that we student activists fought for in
1998: first, lower the prices of basic needs and second, bring
Soeharto to trial. Neither have happened," said Niko Adrian, a
former student activist and founder of the now defunct City Forum
(Forkot).

Niko, who now works as a public defender for the APHI legal
aid body, said people's welfare had not improved because none of
Soeharto's successors had been committed to the Constitution.

"For example, Article 33 says that natural resources should be
exploited only for the maximum benefit of the people, but on the
contrary, the government has privatized some vital state-owned
companies, which benefited only businesspeople," he told The
Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Regarding Soeharto, he said there had not been a single
president after Soeharto who had the courage to bring the man to
trial because they were still backed by a few politicians from
the New Order regime.

"As a lawyer, as far as I know, the capability of a defendant
to stand trial is determined by the judge. A judge will ask
whether or not the man is healthy enough to stand trial. But in
Soeharto's case, he didn't even go to court," he said.

Soeharto, who stepped aside in May 1998 after leading the
country for more than three decades, had been accused of
plundering the country to enrich himself, family members and
cronies. The Attorney General's Office, however, has declared
him unfit to stand trial.

Another former Forkot activist, Luthfi Iskandar, agreed that
many of the students' demands had not been fulfilled, but at
least there had been a slight improvement in the fight against
corruption.

In 1998, students also demanded the elimination of corruption,
collusion and nepotism, which became rampant during the 32 years
of Soeharto's presidency.

"At least there is an intense struggle against corruption now,
which has exposed high-profile cases involving state officials.
But that's not enough, there has been no tough punishment, such
as the death sentence, handed down to embezzlers yet," said
Luthfi, who runs a private information and technology company.

Luthfi added that tough sentences were needed as a warning
that corruption could not take place in the reform era.

Many big-time embezzlers, mostly associated with Soeharto's
New Order regime, have not been prosecuted. Some still hold
strategic political positions in the country, which has
consistently been ranked one of the world's most corrupt nations.

Jim Lomen, a former activist from Trisakti University, said
such minimal progress was not enough to reflect the success of
the reform movement.

"Yes, some corruption cases have been exposed to the public,
and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has supported such
exposure, but we must also realize that corruption has also
spread out to the provincial and regency levels. Corruption has
also become decentralized," said Jim, who works for a cargo
company.

He suggested that President Susilo focus primarily on law
enforcement, the success of which would have a domino effect on
people's welfare.

"In 2009, he will either be reelected or another president
will replace him. He or she could just focus on reforming the
economic sector," Jim said. (006)