Lawmakers wary over military voting rights

Lawmakers wary over military voting rights

Bernie K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Legislators have expressed concern that the general election bill
gives military members the right to vote, fearing a lack of
professionalism and possible conflicts of interest, but major
political parties show signs of backing the bill.

"Personally I disagree with this (plan), the time just isn't
right yet," Burhan Djabir Magenda of the Golkar Party faction
said over the weekend.

The military should first prove it can maintain neutrality
before involving itself with politics, said Burhan, who is on
House of Representatives Commission I for defense, political and
foreign affairs in charge of debating the general election bill.

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently handed the House the
general election bill, one of three political bills on the 2004
general election.

Debate on the bill by members of the House special committee
has yet to start, but already contradicting opinions surround the
clause that gives military and police personnel the right to
vote.

Some legal experts call the clause progressive in that it
encourages democracy. Others fear it will divide the military and
eliminate its neutrality in politics.

Burhan said that with the 2004 general election fast
approaching, it would be unwise to drag the military into
politics.

"If we were to grant them voting rights, we should wait until
after 2009," he said.

By 2009 at the latest, the military and the police force must
have relinquished their positions in the legislature and the
country's highest lawmaking body, the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR).

Effendi Choiri of the National Awakening Party faction (PKB),
however, was against granting the military voting rights at all.

"Even after 2009, they should stay out of politics," he said.

Every Indonesian citizen has the right to vote in general
elections, he said, but once they join the military they lose
that right.

He added that since members of the military must relinquish
their political aspirations, the government should ensure the
well-being of its members.

Djoko Susilo of the National Mandate Party (PAN) disagreed
with the idea of political parties wooing military members for
their votes.

He said the Reform faction, a coalition of small and mainly
Muslim-based parties including PAN, was against giving military
members voting rights.

Such rights, he said, would threaten to violate MPR Decree No.
VII/2000, which requires the military to stay neutral.

"It would be too dangerous to have the military vote, we must
bear in mind that our political parties are mostly sectarian
based," he explained.

He said his faction would try to convince others to reject
the bill's clause. "We will fight against it, I am sure we'll get
a consensus."

According to him, debate on the general election bill will
start in a couple of weeks by a special committee. But he
refrained from saying the present mood among the factions.

The country's largest political party, the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) has indicated its
support for giving the military voting rights.

"There must be an exchange of trust and confidence between the
military and civilians," said Paulus Widianto of PDI Perjuangan.

The military, which has no political affiliation, has always
played a pivotal role in determining the country's political
landscape.

Analysts have said that former president Abdurrahman Wahid's
ouster last year was partly because he had pushed too hard for
reform within the military.

Subsequently his successor President Megawati Soekarnoputri is
seen making overtures to the military. In the past, relations
between her and the military had been tense.

Megawati is the chairwoman of PDI Perjuangan, which was an
opposition party during the Soeharto administration and had its
share of run-ins with the military.

Golkar's Burhan was also unsure whether his view would gain
the support of the party, the country's second largest.

According to him, Golkar chairman and House Speaker Akbar
Tandjung supported granting military members the right to vote.

"Akbar's stance is not final or anything, we haven't decided
our position yet," Burhan added.

Despite small parties' objection to giving military members
voting rights, an alliance between PDI Perjuangan and Golkar
might mean the bill could be passed with the controversial
clause.

Vice President and chairman of the Muslim-based Indonesian
Development Party Hamzah Haz also favors the clause.

"Because the military and police will lose their political
representatives (by 2009), it won't hurt accommodating them
(through voting rights)," he was quoted as saying by Antara.