Mere window dressing

Mere window dressing

To convince Indonesians he is serious about reform, President
B. J. Habibie announced that his government would hold a general
election as soon as possible, has agreed to release all political
prisoners and has vowed to put the country's economy back on
track. To top off the performance, his brother, Junus Effendy,
obligingly quit his post as head of the Batam Industrial
Development Authority, which operates on the island next to
Singapore. And his son Ilham left his post as special assistant
to the head of the High Technology Division of the Agency for the
Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), of which his
father was chairman. It is such wonderful window dressing which
requires so little sincerity.

Some people welcomed the steps, but many consider the moves as
being far from the total reform they expect. One group that
fought for total reform has done an about-face and appears to
support Habibie, making the concept of total reform impure. It is
comical but real.

We regret the shift in attitude, because the real political
situation today gives little indication that Habibie deserves any
public support. He works with the old spirit, which is starkly
obsolete because it belongs to the crumbled administration of his
mentor, Soeharto.

Judging by those he chose for his Cabinet, one could easily
jump to the conclusion that Habibie is working in the shadow of
the former president, who he used to call "my political
professor". It is little wonder that many people are under the
impression that Soeharto is playing wayang (shadow play) by
pulling the strings from behind stage.

Meanwhile, promising a general election without fixing a date
could be a political trick, which would open the way to further
uncertainty. On the other hand, if a poll is held within six
months the government could face a lot of difficulties, and it
would only give birth to a defected democracy.

First, the new government needs time to revamp the existing
outdated political laws. Once that is done, the establishing of
new political parties -- because the existing ones have failed to
function properly -- would take months because such a job
involves the raising of vast sums and the forming of party
quarters throughout the country, including in villages, which was
banned by the Soeharto regime. Then the new political parties
would need time to campaign before the elections.

With the release of political prisoners, it is hoped that
Budiman Sudjatmiko, chairman of the Democratic People's Party
(PRD), who was sentenced April last year to 13 years
imprisonment for subversion, will also be released and all cases
of witch-hunting cease forthwith. The authorities claimed Budiman
was involved in communist-inspired activities.

Ultimately, this country could do with a new attitude, but
tragically it is the bureaucracy which needs the overhaul.
Unfortunately it appears to have little interest in such a vast
change. Habibie should at least do some heavy soul-searching, and
abandon the old political culture and embrace a new one by, for
example, shaking up his cabinet and firing all of Soeharto's
errand boys and other suspect personalities.

We are sorry to say, but Habibie obviously lacks the potential
to do it. It is understandable that as things stand now, many
people want Habibie to quit because expecting him to implement
total reform is just thinking the unthinkable.