Golkar's acquiescence

Golkar, the dominant faction in the House of Representatives, finally dropped its defiant defense of what it calls the political rights of the country's four million civil servants, due to pressure from political groupings and political forces outside the legislative body, in a high-level meeting on Friday.

Up until last week, Golkar veritably scared the nation with its stance because the problem is part of the political bills now being deliberated by the House, which is working under the foreboding shadow of a Jan. 28 deadline.

Golkar's capitulation was surely welcomed by other parties with a sense of relief. Many had been dismayed by the possibility of a deadlock in the House, something which would ultimately cause the general election to be either postponed or canceled. The elections, planned for June 7, are expected to be the first democratic polls since 1955.

However, we see no reason to believe that Golkar leaders sacrificed anything for the sake of the nation and democracy. It was time, which is running high, which helped bring the party to its senses, after it was repeatedly reminded of the disaster its pointless defiance might cause.

Golkar might have understood this situation. But the real lesson it was forced to learn was, perhaps, the reality of public acceptance, or rejection, of its fight in the legislative body. Had the struggle for the interests of civil servants -- the most politically abused group of workers in this country -- been fought by any other political entity, the people's reaction would have been different.

It is still fresh in everyone's minds how Golkar politically harassed civil servants to vote for it in every election between 1971 and 1997, just to ensure president Soeharto's reelection. But since the fall of its disgraced hero last year, Golkar has futilely tried to impress the public of its sincerity.

By the agreement reached last week, we sincerely hope that the remaining issues in the bills can be ironed out in the same spirit. Since the ball bearing civil servants' political rights is now in the government's court -- as it is now its duty to regulate it in a decree -- we hope that no party will provoke a prolonged debate about the meaning of their rights, whether it be passive or active, because many parties agree that civil servants will have the right to vote while serving the public with absolute impartiality. To make this possible, they will not be allowed to play an active role in any political party.

Another tug-of-war will be the number of seats to be allotted to the Armed Forces' faction in the House. In line with the constitution, which the military claims to respect, only an elected politician has the right to be a legislator. Armed Forces (ABRI) members have been in the House for decades. ABRI leaders have said they do not want to insist on a definite number of seats, but they do not want the number reduced drastically.

It is now the task of politicians to convince ABRI that times have changed and political reform is now a national crusade. At a time when chaos has hit most parts of the country, ABRI is needed outside the democratic infrastructure, because with the worsening security situation, the nation be broken into pieces if we fail to display a pure sense of patriotism and national responsibility.

And with many hungry for a political position, time might not always be on our side.