'Low reforms, failed democracy'

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Frustrated with the protracted economic crises, stalled reforms and poor law enforcement, the general public are now more inclined to look favorably at a regime akin to the military- backed New Order, posing a threat to the consolidation of democracy in the country, according to a survey.

A survey conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) showed that only 29.3 percent of 2,240 respondents still opposed the military's involvement in politics, compared to 54 percent in 2001, suggesting that the people were becoming more receptive to the return of the military to the country's political stage.

"The trend serves as a wake-up call for the consolidation of democracy in Indonesia," said Saiful Mujani, a senior LSI official, at a press conference here on Monday.

The nationwide survey involved direct interviews from Aug. 1 to Aug. 14 excluding Aceh, involving 2,240 respondents chosen randomly, with an error margin of three percent.

Some 42 percent of respondents live in urban areas, while the rest live in rural areas.

Similar surveys conducted since 1999 suggested that more and more people were becoming receptive to the military. In 1999, at least 44.8 percent of respondents opposed any military regime, while the figure rose to 54 percent in 2001.

The percentage of people rejecting a military regime dropped to 47.7 percent in 2002, and it reached the lowest level at 29.3 percent this year, in tandem with the government's inability to resolve the current economic crisis, pursue the reforms initiated in 1998 and restore peace and order in conflict areas.

The survey also showed that anti-New Order sentiment had fallen to 25.9 percent in 2003, indicating a consistently declining trend from 39.1 percent in 2002, 59.6 percent in 2001 and 68.2 percent in 1999.

"It shows that the people prefer to live under the New Order regime than under today's reform regime," Saiful said.

According to the survey, the increasing support for the bygone New Order regime is attributable to the poor economic performance since the start of the economic crisis in 1997.

The unemployment figure stood at 40 million people last year, and the quality of education has declined, while Indonesians living in extreme poverty remains at 7.2 percent, as it rated in 2001.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranked Indonesia 112th out of 175 countries surveyed in its Human Development index published this year.

The post-reform regimes, beginning with B.J. Habibie's administration and to the current government under President Megawati Soekarnoputri, have failed to live up to people's expectations in economic reform, leading people to feel that the New Order regime fared better than its successors, concluded the survey.

In terms of political stability, the people also believed that the New Order regime fared better than the reform regimes.

Separatism and sectarian conflicts, for example, have not yet been resolved, although they have been ongoing for five years. Law enforcement has not improved, while corruption continues unchecked and unabated.

All these unresolved issues have reminded the Indonesian public of the "good old days" under the New Order government, said the survey. Several other surveys have shown that the people's trust in political parties continued to decline.

Takashi Shiraishi, a member of the LSI Advisory Board, said during the presentation of the survey that the government must improve economic performance in order to prevent the Indonesian public from reminiscing over the Soeharto regime.

He said the current government, for example, had to raise economic growth -- currently at 4 percent -- in order to create jobs to appease public discontent.