Has the reform movement ground to a halt?

Has the reform movement ground to a halt?

One month after Soeharto fell from power, the hurly-burly of
the reform movement seems to have calmed down. On the other hand,
there is an impression that the government has responded to
reform calls half-heartedly. Political analyst J. Soedjati
Djiwandono reflects on the issue.

JAKARTA (JP): We have a long way to go to total and
comprehensive reform. What could be called counter-reformist
forces are still at work since reforms threaten the interests of
many powerful people.

Is the Habibie government committed to reform? Verbally, yes.
And undeniably, some of the steps it has taken do look like
reforms on the surface. The central bank, for instance, is now
independent of the government. How this will work in practice,
however, remains to be seen. The education minister has put a
stop to the Pancasila course for university students, though this
is surely far from enough.

Although the government is mouthing the right words, the
market does not seem to believe it. Nor does the international
community. The value of the rupiah has not only remained low, but
has recently plummeted once again against the U.S. dollar.
Indonesia's letters of credit remain unacceptable, foreign
investment is still a far cry away and the IMF remains
closefisted.

At a glance, public appeals made by Minister of Defense and
Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto and others asking
people to give the present government a chance to do its job and
overcome the economic crisis do make sense. One should not
question its legitimacy anymore. Just give it the benefit of the
doubt.

Support and confidence, however, must be earned. These cannot
be taken for granted. They cannot be given away for free. Nor can
they simply be solicited by summoning all university rectors and
religious leaders to listen to hours of monologue from the
President instead of being listened to.

Indeed, the fact that it contains a number of the same old
cronies of the old Soeharto regime with all its notorious
characteristics, style and language, the Habibie government does
not in itself inspire confidence. Like its predecessor, as some
have pointed out, the present government does not even have a
sense of crisis. Does such a government deserve support and
confidence?

What the people, and indeed the whole world, want to see above
all are concrete and drastic emergency measures to overcome the
rapidly worsening economic crisis, particularly the increasingly
serious food situation. Such measures are yet to be forthcoming.
It is an emergency situation we are dealing with -- both economic
and political. It is not business as usual.

People want to see the right priorities in the government's
agenda. Installing the absolutely useless Supreme Advisory
Council at this point is definitely not a high priority and a
waste of resources. And scheduling a special session of the
People's Consultative Assembly in December only to set the
general election in a year's time appears like an effort at
procrastination.

This tends to create the impression that the government is
trying to buy time, for what one can only guess -- though some
may think the new government may be trying to secure its own
interests that are likely to be affected by speedy, total and
comprehensive reform of the old Soeharto system.

We are racing against time. Are we going to risk another bout
with riots, rapes, looting and other acts of destruction, with
people free to run amok like barbarians?

With counter-reformist forces fishing in murky waters, taking
advantage of the nationwide reform movement, this would seriously
damage the chances for total reform.

If that kind of horrific chaos should happen again, one should
not put the blame on religious leaders, university students and
other forces of reform. The brunt of responsibility should be
squarely put on the shoulders of the government.