Leaders must not abuse power: Analysts
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.