Investors eager to see free polls, Amien Rais says
JAKARTA (JP): Foreign investors are waiting for free and fair polls in Indonesia, after which they expected a credible government.
A general election is scheduled for June 7.
Amien Rais, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) who returned Friday from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, addressed some 30,000 followers at the Senayan Sports Stadium in Central Jakarta in a festive inauguration ceremony of the party's Jakarta chapter. Traditional Betawi decor and custom colored the function.
Amien was in Davos at the forum on its invitation as a speaker. The forum ends Tuesday. Citing officials he said he met there, he said, "Those figures believe that foreign investors will come here in droves after a fair poll, which they expect will create a new government supported by all the people."
With such hopes in restoring the economy, Amien said that despite the party's misgivings about the endorsement of the political bills on Friday, it accepted the new bills.
"PAN endorses the new political bills as long as the polls are conducted freely, fairly and in a democratic manner," he said.
It was the party's latest stance after it was reported on Saturday to have urged President B.J. Habibie to return the bills to the House of Representatives for amendment.
At least, Amien added, the National Mandate Party had done its best to influence the deliberations so that the bills could meet public aspirations.
Amien and other observers have said failure to conduct free and fair polls would create further violence.
PAN was among parties which voiced disagreement with, among other things, a stipulation giving the Armed Forces 38 House seats with voting rights.
On Sunday, Amien did not say who he met in Davos during his short stay, but reports said he had been scheduled to meet United States' Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Stanley Roth, Harvard University director and economist Jeffrey Sachs, and Chris Bertram of the German Sciences and Political Foundation.
Among PAN's last-ditch efforts to influence the bills were a hearing with legislators last Monday and a demonstration the next day. In the first months of the deliberation, PAN was also among many parties who tried to influence legislators.
PAN secretary-general Faisal Basri earlier said the party realized the risks of delaying the elections, but said it would continue to voice its views in a bid to influence the implementation of the agreed pieces of legislation.
Amien also stated on Sunday that the government should not feign ignorance as to who the often-cited provocateurs of recent riots were and should instead arrest them. The government claims it now has leads as to who the people are, but it has not announced their names. Amien also urged the government to continue its investigation into former president Soeharto.
"It is not a matter of hatred or revenge, but of law enforcement," said Amien, adding that people might consider forgiving Soeharto after he was brought to court. Calls for people to respect the 77 year old have raised fears that this could hamper the investigation of corruption and ill-gotten wealth.
Sunday's function was attended by Lt. Gen. A.M. Hendropriyono, minister of transmigration and resettlement of forest squatters; Subroto, former minister of mines and energy; historian Taufik Abdullah and chairman of PAN's advisory board; Jakarta deputy governor M. Kahfi; former Armed Forces officer Maj. Gen. (ret) Soewarno Adiwidjoyo and member of the party's advisory board; Toety Heraty, PAN's deputy chairwoman; cultural observer Jaya Suprana; and businessmen Rachmat Gobel and Setiawan Djody.
The Jakarta chapter is one of PAN's 22 provincial chapters.
The ceremony presented a colossal performance in which a giant "octopus" symbolized the former regime and efforts by students, portrayed by those from Muhammadiyah education institutions, to topple it. (01)