Managing the state

Managing the state

From Gatra

I would like to comment on the interview with Kwik Kian Gie
and Mubyarto published in Gatra (May 17). I think members of the
House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly
should understand the major thoughts contained in the interview.
We are concerned about the question of whether or not the
instruments deployed for managing our state are adequate. In this
case, I would like to share my ideas with legislators.

The polemics on capitalism between Kwik Kian Gie and Mubyarto
as reported in the media is indeed very interesting. It examined
article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, which stipulates that the
land, water and air are "controlled by the state". Some people
have a different interpretation of the phrase "controlled by the
state". We can conclude that there are still many issues that
have to be solved by the assembly. Our fundamental task is to
spell out all articles of the constitution to avoid controversial
interpretations.

One other crucial thing, in my opinion, is the fact that the
high state institutions and the supreme institutions are not
clearly defined. A duplication of function is still prevalent.
Another fact is that control over the government's performance
seems to be ineffective.

My suggestion is to make the assembly function according to
the original ideal, i.e. as a place to hold dialog among the
major national forces -- political groups, provincial
representatives and professionals.

Members of the political groups should be elected and not
appointed by the government. The legislators' main job is to make
laws to be used as guidelines for executives in carrying out
their task. It is time Golkar was sincere in calling itself a
political group.

Provincial representatives include the elected councils from
throughout the country. Their numbers must be balanced with those
of the House of Representatives. This will ensure that a region
with a small population has a small number of representatives.
The regional council has the task of making regulations to be
used as guidelines for the local administration. This is
currently not the situation. The provincial representatives
consist of dignitaries plus individuals appointed by the
government.

Professionals include farmers, fishermen, teachers, civil
servants, the Armed Forces, etc. Their number is also balanced
with that of other groups. The assembly must not only meet once
every five years, with the single purpose of electing its
mandatory as has always been the practice. Instead, the body
should meet more often and focus its attention on the control of
the executives' performances. If necessary, a working body could
be set up.

This system will hopefully accommodate people's aspirations,
democracy will flourish, and the government will be restricted
from intervening in the job beyond its frame of responsibility.
The Armed Forces should also stand above all groups, instead of
giving their support to a certain political party.

SIDARTA

Jakarta