Govt told to repent for management failures
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."