Indonesia needs a national unity govt

By Omar Halim

JAKARTA (JP): At the moment, Indonesia is at an extremely critical juncture. The process of reform, which was initiated by the people on the street, particularly the students, has been taking shape since mid-1998 when former president Soeharto stepped down. Much has been achieved since then.

The economic reform measures, which were prompted by the government's inability to deal with the onslaught of the financial crisis, were initiated by the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Extremely painful adjustments, such as a drastic drop in income, bankruptcies, high unemployment and soaring prices, were accompanied by, on paper, new laws and measures that would make the Indonesian economy leaner, more dynamic and more efficient to face the 21st century.

But much more needs to be done. Most important of which is what role do we want the Indonesian economy to play in the world economy in the next century?

A national commission could be established to provide answers to this question. Once this is clear, then complementary policies and measures, such as the direction and curriculum of our education and training goals, should be formulated and implemented.

The reform process within the economic area, however, was dealt a severe setback by the Bank Bali scandal. Domestic and international confidence in our economic prospects has plummeted. According to the testimonies of trade associations in the last few weeks, it is fair to conclude that only a new government with a clear vision of what needs to be done in the future can restore that confidence.

At the political level, a very promising start was made. Forty-eight political parties contested the relatively free and fair elections, and six emerged as significant parties.

Although the General Elections Commission performed miserably, somehow a reasonably representative People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) was established. So far the highest legislative body has shown a rather remarkable performance in amending the 1945 Constitution by establishing a balance of power between the legislative and executive branches of government.

The independence and strengthening of the judicial branch needs to be established also. It is hoped that this process of establishing a better checks and balances under the authority of the representatives of the people will continue. To ensure a leaner and more competitive economy as mentioned earlier, the draft State Policy Guidelines for 1999-2004 seeks to prevent monopolistic markets and distortions caused by corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Now the MPR is at the point of electing the fourth president on Oct. 20. With reformist Amien Rais at the helm of the MPR and reformist Akbar Tandjung as speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), the executive branch of government needs to be under the control of reformists as well.

In essence, this will determine whether Indonesia can now muster the cooperation of reformist elements to complete the reform process as started by the people, particularly the students. If the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and National Awakening Party (PKB) camps can work with the reformist wing of Golkar, this will create a strong nationalistic-based coalition.

The "axis force," which is an alliance of Islamic parties, will have less leeway in the political chess play in the formation of the executive branch of government.

But elements of the axis force that are considered reformist should also be invited to join this coalition. Such a collaboration among reformists in the three groupings would no doubt create a very strong force in completing the reform process. The executive branch could work with the independent legislative branch in formulating further reform laws and regulations and in the implementation of them.

Our future very much depends on whether Indonesians can start a new chapter in its young history with a force that can overturn the past ills in order to pave the way for a bright future which is a clean break from the past.

Before the general election on June 7, a clean break did not seem possible. The status-quo forces seemed to be exerting real influence over events that were contrary to the process of reform. After the elections, however, reformist forces in all parties seemed to be increasingly visible and exerting their influence. Even Golkar was characterized as having a 'dark' and a 'bright' Golkar (I loathe the use of the terms 'black' and 'white').

Although the religious and regional factors are relevant and do play roles in the political chess game, the secular and nationalist-oriented political parties could form the core of what could develop into a "national unity" government. The representatives of the people and the political leaders in the MPR have a golden opportunity to make this happen and lay the groundwork for the people and the country to have a bright future.

The writer is an Indonesian economic and political observer residing in Jakarta.