LIPI told to examine electoral laws

LIPI told to examine electoral laws

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto asked the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI) yesterday to study the possibility
of changing the Indonesian election system from the current
proportional representation to a first-past-the post system.

Soeharto also asked the institute to review the methods by
which the Armed Forces officers in the House of Representatives
are appointed.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono told reporters yesterday
that the request had been made to new LIPI chairman, Soefjan
Tsauri, who reported to the President following his appointment
last month.

"President Soeharto is asking LIPI to study which election
system is the best and most applicable to us," Moerdiono said
after he accompanied Soefjan and his predecessor Samaun Samadikun
to meet with the head of state at the Bina Graha office.

Soeharto made the request in response to various public
debates on the issue and because of charges that the democratic
system in Indonesia is a sham.

"There are people who say that our stability is artificial and
that democracy does not really exist because we have legislators
who are appointed rather than elected, when, in fact, we are
always striving to improve the quality of our democracy,"
Moerdiono said.

Under the current proportional representation system, voters
choose one of the three political parties in the general election
-- Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI).

In the last election, Golkar won 68 percent of the votes, the
PPP 17 percent and the PDI 15 percent. Four hundred of the 500
seats in the House were divided accordingly. The other 100 seats
are reserved for ABRI, whose members do not vote.

Debates

There have been debates among politicians and intellectuals
about whether the electoral system should be changed into one in
which voters directly elect the parliamentarians who will
represent them.

Officials in Golkar, which has won all of the five general
elections held under President Soeharto, have said that the
district system would make Golkar's majority almost absolute
because they would win almost all, if not every, district.

The PDI and the PPP have been calling for a revamp of the
electoral system but have refrained from endorsing the district-
based system. Instead, they have been arguing for better
supervision and administration of the general elections.

Moerdiono said the fact that the district system has never
been implemented in Indonesia "doesn't mean that the government
hasn't thought about it".

Indonesia is not ready to implement the direct election system
because of the generally low educational background of the
people, he said. But the system might be adopted in the future.

He said the district system would produce local leaders but
with no guarantee that they would gain national stature.

Various obstacles notwithstanding, Soeharto asked LIPI to
"study ... whether the current electoral system needs to be
improved and, if so, how it can be improved", Moerdiono said.

Implementation

"Even if there are answers as to how the current system can be
improved, the next question would be when to implement it," he
said. "This important task has been entrusted to LIPI... as for
whether the result of this study will be used by the government,
that's another issue."

Soeharto also asked LIPI to study the appointment of the Armed
Forces (ABRI's) representatives in the legislature, Moerdiono
said. "There have been criticisms of the appointment of ABRI
members to the House."

"What we need to discuss is the appropriate mechanism to be
used in appointing ABRI representatives, how many should be
appointed ... This we need to think over together."

Moerdiono said President Soeharto had reminded Soefjan and
other scholars at LIPI of their position as employees of a
government institution.

"As scholars, they have freedom of opinion and freedom to
express their views ... which are part of our creative life,"
Moerdiono said. However, the scholars must be aware of "which
opinions are personal views and which are the government's and
where those opinions should be expressed". (swe)