Leading figures must unite to fight crisis

JAKARTA (JP): Political observer Franz Magnis Suseno says it is high time nationalist figures and religious leaders put their differences aside and join forces to help the country cope with the various crises facing it today.

Speaking in support of the call for a "national coalition", the professor of social philosophy at Jakarta's Driyarkara School of Philosophy said figures like Abdurrahman Wahid, Amien Rais and Megawati Soekarnoputri should unite to promote reform.

Abdurrahman is chairman of the 30 million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization while Amien Rais leads the 28 million-strong Muhammadiyah, and Megawati is the ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party. The three have long been viewed as government critics.

"If such a coalition could be developed, they could shed hope for political and economic reforms," Magnis told a discussion on Christmas reflection.

Magnis was quick to point out, however, that the coalition should be a moral force rather than one that is established to retaliate against political foes.

"The coalition must be positive... not a kind of (effort of) vengeance or whatsoever," Magnis said.

The coalition should be aimed at fighting moral illnesses such as corruption and collusion which are believed to be the cause of the country's severe social, economic and political crises.

"Greed, lies and corruption have been prevailing too long in the country and this must be stopped," Magnis said, adding that people have also realized these moral illnesses must be terminated.

He feared the ongoing crises would only cause poverty in the country to worsen.

According to 1996 statistics, 22.5 million people were living below the poverty line. Official records also said that 1.4 million people have lost their jobs because of the monetary crisis, bringing the number of unemployed to 5.8 million.

Social observer Mochtar Buchori told The Jakarta Post yesterday the plunge of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar showed that people have lost confidence in the government.

"We need new faces, new personalities, new trust and new confidence," Mochtar said, referring to reforms in state leadership.

About 20 students and youth activists staged a peaceful protest yesterday demanding swift government action to overcome the economic crisis and the installation of a new president and cabinet.

Plainclothes security officers watched as the group unfurled banners and chanted protest slogans at a monument on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said in South Jakarta that commemorates the establishment of the New Order government in 1966.

"The government has failed to fix the economy, so the cabinet should be reshuffled. A new president is needed to restore confidence," a member of the Pijar group of students said. (10)