'If I were a civil servant ...'

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S. M. said yesterday that while civil servants are not obliged to support Golkar, they are still expected to vote for the ruling political organization.

Yogie, who is not a member of the politically powerful Indonesian Civil Servants Corps (Korpri), suggested that government employees who do not vote for Golkar should resign from their jobs.

"If I were a member of Korpri, I'd quit and get another job if I didn't want to choose Golkar," he told reporters.

The minister was speaking to reporters after attending a hearing with the House of Representatives, during which a question was raised about the legality of the government's policy of urging its employees to vote for Golkar.

Korpri chairman Suryatna Soebrata, also Yogie's secretary- general, said the law guarantees that civil servants are free to vote for the party of their choice.

Civil servants are also free to join any political party "subject to approval from their superiors," Suryatna said.

He said government employees are expected to show loyalty to the government, and not Golkar. But this "monoloyalty" concept has been widely misunderstood to mean that they should also vote for Golkar during the elections, he said.

"It is just people's misinterpretation if they equate government with Golkar," he said.

Yogie denied that senior government officials prevent civil servants from joining political organizations other than Golkar, saying that the complaints were totally unfounded.

"They shouldn't complain before even trying," he said.

The two minority parties have often complained that civil servants are forced to vote for Golkar at elections and that those who did not comply could be fired from their jobs.

Although the civil service is apolitical, Korpri has been one of the main components of Golkar's election machinery.

Former home minister Rudini last week proposed that the Civil Service should be treated like the Armed Forces, who do not vote at elections but are allocated seats in the House of Representatives. (anr)