Law that sparks riots

For the outgoing House of Representatives, its final days were apparently the best opportunity for it to demonstrate its arrogance and political egotism.

Some House members might have heard of the noisy public reaction to the security bill that they were at the time deliberating, but they opted to turn deaf ears. This is especially true with the Golkar faction, which dominated the House, itself the last product of Soeharto's iron-fisted rule.

Had the legislators, who owe their positions to a dubious general election, had the slightest sensitivity toward the people's aspirations, they would have left deliberation of the bill to the new House, which will start working next month.

Now the Habibie regime has to take responsibility for the unrest and count the loss of life caused by the blind ambition of the House. Opposition to the bill was not only demonstrated in Jakarta, but also in other provinces.

Youths from other towns came to Jakarta, the seat of the central government. It is all too easy for the military to say that troublemakers from other places caused the strife, but many people have clearly expressed a fear that the shadow of military brutality, made possible through the new law, looms large.

There may have been looters who managed to sneak into the ranks of angry young protesters, just as Jakarta Military Commander Djadja Suparman expressed concern over yesterday. However, everyday people are also worried about the prospect of a wide-scale riot breaking out. Based on past experience in Jakarta and other restive provinces, it is likely that the military also poked its nose into murky waters, because the more disastrous a riot is, the more likelihood of military involvement.

The military has all the means at its disposal for this: the opportunity, the authority, the technology and invisible hands to cause trouble. The people of Aceh, Maluku and East Timor can attest to this.

But those who have healthy ears -- whether they be regular people, officers or thoughtless politicians watching the riots from a distance -- can hear loud and clear the voices demanding that Habibie think twice before signing the controversial bill into law.

If the House members appear not to care about the consequences of their dangerous game, Habibie needs to remind himself that the state security bill was taken out from the drawer of Soeharto's state secretary and dusted off. The minister, Moerdiono, said he had kept it there for a decade because he had foreseen that it would provoke public anger if it was deliberated by the House.

If Habibie really has discarded the mantle of his predecessor's regime as he claims, this would be the perfect opportunity for him to prove that he is no charlatan. Anything he does in this critical situation will surely have an impact -- negative or positive -- on his designs to keep the presidency.

If he refuses to enact the bill, it could very well serve as a life buoy in his dream to retain his position. At the very least it would improve his image. That Golkar chairman Akbar Tanjung has also urged Habibie to be wise enough not to enact the bill shows that even the man whose party held a majority in the House, and who therefore played no small part in its approval, sees the more serious dangers that lie ahead. He clearly wants to wash his party's dirty hands of the whole thing.

Now is the time for the President to show his wisdom and save the people, and himself.