Korpri members should vote, Soeharto says

Korpri members should vote, Soeharto says

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday called on members
of the six-million strong Indonesian Civil Servants Corps
(Korpri) to vote in the general election on May 29 next year.

Addressing a gathering for the 25th anniversary of the corps
at Senayan Sports Stadium here yesterday, Soeharto said state
employees should vote not only so their aspirations and interests
are well represented, but also so the "momentum of national
development" can be maintained without glitches.

"Korpri members are part of the whole Indonesian community.
Therefore, all state employees should exercise their voting
rights," he told some 100,000 people present at the event.

He said general elections are not organized merely to select
legislatures, but, more importantly, to accommodate community
dynamics into the Broad Guidelines of State Policies, which is
the blueprint of national life for the next five years.

"This is why election campaigns should be held to offer to the
public political contestants' programs," he said. "The people
will then be able to consider whether their aspirations and
interests are tended well."

President Soeharto's message for state employees to vote
capped public discussions over the last few days about whether
civil servants, with their obvious loyalty toward the dominant
Golkar, should vote, or whether they should have seats in the
House of Representatives reserved for them in exchange for not
voting.

Korpri chairman Suryatna Subrata was the first to suggest that
Korpri should not vote in return for seats in the House.

Advocates of the idea liken the corps to the Armed Forces,
whose members do not vote in general elections but are
represented by its members who are accorded 75 seats in the
House.

Just like the Armed Forces, they argue, civil servants ought
not affiliate with any political organization because they are
supposed to serve people regardless of political background.

Opponents of the idea say the civil service corps' mission is
fundamentally different from that of the Armed Forces, which
deals with maintaining security and stability and therefore must
be neutral.

There are no reasons, they argue, why civil servants should be
deprived of their political right to vote.

The corps has recently reaffirmed its support of Golkar. The
corps is one of the three main forces in the makeup of Golkar
leadership; the other two major influences are the Armed Forces
and mass organizations.

Also yesterday, President Soeharto reminded the corps that the
success of national development and the government depends on the
professionalism, dedication and the welfare of state employees.

"Korpri should give professional suggestions to the
government, with or without being asked. The government does not
wish to see Korpri become a passive executor of government
policies," Soeharto said. (swe)