Leaders must not abuse power: Analysts

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The upcoming legislative and presidential elections must produce politicians capable of stopping abuses of power, or else the public would lose whatever trust they still might have in the reform process, analysts and a former official say.

J. Kristiadi from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said on Wednesday that the people wanted to see politicians give up their old habits.

"If politicians continue to only be interested in serving their own interests, the people will lose patience and all trust in the reform process," he said during a seminar titled "Observing 2004: Safeguarding Reform, Ending Transition", which was held here on Wednesday.

Indonesia will hold its legislative elections on April 5 and first direct presidential election on July 5, 2004. A total of 24 political parties have been declared eligible to contest the legislative elections.

Kristiadi emphasized that the success or failure of the process of political transition would depend on the legislators produced at the next elections.

Meanwhile, Wiranto, a former chief of the Indonesian Military (TNI), said that five years after the beginning of the reform movement in 1998, uncertainty continued to grip many aspects of social and political life in the country.

He said he hoped the general election would produce politicians who could put an end to these uncertainties and bring prosperity to the nation.

Wiranto spoke at the seminar in his capacity as a director of the Institute for Indonesian Democracy (IDe Indonesia), the organizer of the seminar.

In an attempt to end the current uncertainties, the nation needed to always adhere to the "reform agenda", and needed to elect strong and competent leaders.

"To be a strong leader, one must be consistent, open and capable of ensuring stability," said Wiranto, who is also a Golkar presidential candidates.

He criticized the Presidential Elections Law for allowing candidates with only a high school education to run for the presidency. "This is a little bit biased. We need clever leaders but the law allows high school graduates to run for the presidency," he said without elaboration.

He appeared to be referring to incumbent president, Megawati Soekarnoputri, who failed to complete her university studies.

Meanwhile, political analyst M. Alfan Alfian of the Nasional University (UNAS) hailed the presence of many retired military officers in various political parties.

He said that the presence of the retired military officers would improve communications between active military officers and civilian politicians.

"The retired military officers will play a role as regards what action will be taken if the election degenerates into chaos," he said.

Kristiadi said that the past five years had seen a shift in political power from the president and the military to the House of Representatives and the country's political parties.