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)