Govt told to repent for management failures
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
On Wednesday, religion was invoked to urge the government and leaders of the legislative bodies to acknowledge their failure in furthering the reform agendas, and to reflect on their mistakes before the Indonesian people.
"With a sincere repentance, there is hope that God the Almighty will not curse the Indonesian people," said Effendi Choirie, deputy chairman of National Awakening Party (PKB) faction.
The acknowledgment was badly needed to enable national leaders to attain improvement in the economic, social, political, and security sectors, Effendi said.
Effendi was responding to a series of painful blows the country has suffered -- from the financial crisis of 1997, to ethnic and religious conflicts to various natural calamities, including the flooding that has submerged most of Jakarta for much of the past week.
The 51-strong PKB is the only faction in the House of Representatives (DPR) that regularly criticizes the leadership of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The PKB, which is currently wracked by internal conflict, was founded by ex-president Abdurrahman Wahid, who was unseated last July on the grounds of incompetence.
Among the government policies considered especially burdensome to the average people have been the fuel price hike, the increase in phone rates, the rising electricity bills, and steep price increases in basic staples like rice.
Effendi also expressed his opposition to the reestablishment of the Iskandar Muda military command in the strife-torn Aceh.
He emphasized that carrying out a reform agenda had to include the reform of the Indonesian military through a reduction in its role in politics.
According to Effendi, the decision for the reenactment of the military command showed that the government had no sensitivity in dealing with problems in Aceh.
"It's clear that the government has failed to live up to the people's hopes -- this is a situation that cannot be taken for granted," Effendi said.
"Remember," he added, "people will always find methods to terminate any evil and unfair power."