House may vote on civil servants' political status

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) may resort to voting -- a matter of course in many other countries, but so rare in Indonesia it is headline material -- following its factions' failure to agree on whether the four million civil servants should be allowed to enter politics.

Golkar, the dominant faction which insists that public servants should be able to vote and be elected, is refusing to contemplate the possibility of either backing down or voting.

"Ooh, there won't be a vote. Never. Just wait and see," Yahya Zaini of Golkar told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The United Development Party (PPP) is enjoying the rare support of the powerful Armed Forces (ABRI) and the tiny Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in its campaign to bar civil servants from joining political parties.

"They can enter politics if they retire early," Djufrie Asmoredjo of PPP said. "This is our stance and we will not compromise."

"If civil servants are allowed to join political parties, then service personnel will want the same," said Wiyanjono of PDI. "What will become of the country if the Armed Forces are allowed to have their own political party?"

Golkar's attitude is that prohibition is tantamount to violation of the civil servants' political rights, but PPP says that only Golkar would benefit from approving the measure. The 32-year New Order regime built for Golkar a network of support that reached down to village chiefs, the lowest level of bureaucracy.

A high-ranking government official, asking for anonymity, agreed that if the three factions' campaign prevailed, Golkar would suffer an "early loss" in the next general election since the majority of civil servants were its members and cadres.

The House's Working Committee deliberating the bill on political parties reached an impasse on the issue last Friday. The legislators agreed to defer the discussion on the issue to the plenary session in mid-January, and continue to finish the other, less controversial, issues in the Formulation Team.

Indria Samego, a political observer at the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said voting could take place but Golkar would still prevail because of its majority.

Golkar has 325 of the House's 500 seats -- a legacy of the New Order regime when the government and the Armed Forces went to great lengths to ensure its victory.

Indria said that despite its dominant position, Golkar should heed public opinion on the issue.

"Not only the government, LIPI and other independent organizations but, and mainly, the general public want the four million civil servants to remain neutral," Indria said.

Robbani Thoha of PPP, however, said his faction would secure a victory of sorts even if it lost the vote. "If Golkar forces us to vote, the public will know that (Golkar) is fighting to maintain the status quo. We have nothing to lose. A vote will tarnish Golkar's image," he said.

Annual meeting

The Working Committee in charge of deliberating the bill on the structure of the House, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and provincial and regency legislatures, agreed the next MPR would meet every year rather than quinquennially as in the past.

Committee chairman Budi Harsono said all factions agreed that in the future there should be Annual Sessions, Special Sessions and General Sessions of the MPR.

"In its Annual Sessions, the MPR will hear the annual reports of the executive and annual reports from other state institutions such as the Supreme Court and State Audit Agency," he said on Monday.

In General Sessions, held every five years, the MPR would ask for the executive's account of its actions and elect a new president. Special Session would be held in emergency situations.

Budi said the agreement was reached after the committee consulted constitutional law expert Sri Sumantri, who insisted more regular meetings were needed to empower the highest state institution and to avoid violations of the Constitution by the executive.

He said the House would recommend the Assembly's 1999 General Session issue a new decree on the annual MPR sessions.

The development was hailed by the government.

Ryaas Rasyid, the director general of regional autonomy at the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the decision was in line with the government-sponsored bill and with the planned separation of the leadership of the People's Consultative Assembly from that of the House of Representatives.

Budi also said the committee decided that all future agreements between the government and foreign countries and international agencies, especially those affecting the interests of the majority of the people, should first be approved by the House.

"Government-to-Government agreements, including financial loans, must first be approved by the House while those between provincial and regency administrations and foreign countries and international agencies must get approval from provincial and regency legislatures," he said. (rms)