Many government critics are undemocratic: Try

Many government critics are undemocratic: Try

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno took a shot
yesterday at government critics who complain of a lack of
democracy under the present administration, saying that they are
not democratic themselves.

"It is wrong to think that just because a person is a frequent
critic of the government, he is also an exceptionally democratic
person himself," Try was quoted by Antara as saying during a
meeting with local government officials in Pontianak, West
Kalimantan.

Try took particular exception to the fact that many of these
government critics, while vocal, never made any real effort to
resolve their differences through deliberation, as required by
the Pancasila democracy.

One shouldn't disagree simply for the sake of disagreement
alone, he said. "The Pancasila democracy takes heed of criticisms
which are intended to improve things, not criticisms which are
destructive," Try said.

He did not name any particular critics. Presumably his
comments referred to those people who have become more and more
vocal in recent years, taking advantage of the increasing
political openness.

The vice president said Indonesia needed a strong
administration and strong legislative and judicial bodies.
Together, the three independent bodies should combine on a
mission to improve the welfare of the people.

Try underlined the importance of stability for national
development and rejected the critics' claim that the government
had been obsessed with stability and security at the expense of
democracy.

"Don't be fooled by people who say that stability is no longer
important," he said.

Stability, Try pointed out, was an absolute necessity in the
development process and was not something that should be taken
for granted. "It must be sought and maintained because it doesn't
just come out of thin air", he said.

While meeting with the officials, Try emphasized that
subordinates should not hesitate to reprimand their superiors if
they knew them to be doing something wrong. "It should be part of
the supervision system. You can figure out the best way to do
it," he added. (pwn)