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.