House Speaker warns of widening disparities
JAKARTA (JP): The widening economic and political disparities in Indonesian society may well trigger more mass violence, House Speaker Wahono warned yesterday.
If not properly resolved, the disparities will affect the hard-worked-for national resilience, he noted when opening the new House session.
"The violence that rocked several areas at the end of 1996 shows that our society's sociocultural resilience is weak. People were easily incited by irresponsible parties," he said.
Major unrest shook Jakarta in July, the East Java town of Situbondo in October, West Java's Tasikmalaya on Dec. 26 and West Kalimantan's Sanggau Ledo on Dec. 29.
In Java, the rioters targeted government buildings, property belonging to Chinese Indonesians and churches. In West Kalimantan, the conflict pitted Madura transmigrants against the indigenous Dayaks.
Not only did the incidents inflict substantial material and human loses, they also left people wondering what was happening to Indonesians, who usually take pride in being tolerant and friendly.
Wahono called on the government and the public alike to seek the root of the problems.
"Perhaps these (violent incidents) were a manifestation of people's frustration. People couldn't control their emotions on seeing that their leaders' conduct fell short of their expectations," he said.
Wahono lamented that people have used social and religious sentiments to vent their frustration without regard for law and order.
The Dec. 26 riot in Tasikmalaya was triggered by the police's brutal handling of teachers of an Islamic boarding school who had punished the son of police officer.
In the riot that ensued, shops, factories and churches were burned and four people were killed, according to official statistics.
The religious violence in Situbondo was triggered by public dissatisfaction with the sentence demanded by a local court for a Moslem charged with blaspheming Islam.
The well-documented July 1996 riot in Jakarta was triggered by the takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) office by a government-backed rebel faction.
Wahono, a former lieutenant general, said that the authorities should prioritize preventive measures in handling social problems so as not to unduly anger people.
"The repressive approach should be used only as a last resort," he said. "Besides, the authorities and the public should use their common sense and not take the law into their own hands."
Wahono also said he supported the view that many Indonesians' morality is declining and that the multiethnic and multifaith nation has to refocus its efforts to maintain unity.
The alarm on the declining morality was sounded last week by leaders of the two largest Moslem organizations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama.
Wahono stressed that government officials should provide examples with real actions rather than statements on how to preserve national unity.
He praised the government for initiating the National Discipline Drive and its call for clean governance, hoping that the campaigns are implemented continuously.
On the May 29 general election Wahono called on the public to give their ideas to the National Election Committee and the three contestants, Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and PDI.
Specifically, he called on the public to give input on the House of Representatives candidates proposed by the contestants.
The election committee is expected to announce the names of the candidates some time this month.
The public is expected to give input on the integrity of all the candidates, Wahono said.
"All the input should be based on credible sources so that no one slanders a candidate," he said.
Golkar, PPP and PDI will contest 425 seats in the 500-seat House. The remaining 75 seats are reserved by the Armed Forces, which plays a dominant role in politics but does not take part in the election. (pan)