Honesty, silliness and the system
Despite some progress being made, the continuation of making dishonest and silly policies by Habibie's government will extend and worsen the people's suffering during this multidimensional crisis that will probably provoke more riots in the near future. Many statements which have confused the people have been made since Soeharto was still in power, and in the midst of this uncertainty, have caused a lack of confidence in the government on the part of the people.
In his recent interview with the Washington Post, President B.J. Habibie said the country's economy would survive even if ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs did not return to Indonesia because their role would be filled by other Indonesians. This statement showed a boasting, irresponsible and unwise attitude. As a President, he should be responsible for the reasons why they fled their own country. My interpretation to the statement is that we don't care what we have done even if it means sacrificing lives for political purposes that abused human rights.
Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung, prior to his election as Golkar chairman, stated that if he won the chairmanship, he was willing to resign as minister of state. But after Golkar elected him, he did not relinquish his ministerial post but instead proposed appointing a state secretary deputy. His decision not to resign but hire a deputy, will increase the government's expenses and possibly create conflicts of interest.
State Minister of Food and Agriculture A.M. Saefuddin was quoted by Media Indonesia daily as saying he could tolerate looters if they did it only to satisfy their hunger. Even though he denied the report, claiming his remarks on looting were taken out of context by the reporter, people would have in mind that the minister should exercise thought in making statements.
Regarding press freedom, other controversial issues have been made. The press no longer needs a license to operate but journalists must have a license, which is valid for a limited time. If the journalist is deemed unqualified, his license could be revoked. In implementing this new regulation, the government will, again, have control over the press, creating a 50-year setback for freedom of the press.
Our nation needs a people and a government that can work together to overcome this crisis. The people won't support the government if corruption, collusion and nepotism are still practiced. In the Reform Cabinet's first three months of work, not a single minister came out with transparency, only dishonest and silly statements, as Soeharto's regime had in the past.
PARLINDUNGAN SIBARANI
Jakarta