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First, the new government needs time to revamp the existing outdated political laws.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.