Minority, dominant factions differ on reforms

JAKARTA (JP): The minority parties pressed ahead yesterday with their demands for clean governance and political reform to be included in the State Policy Guidelines for the next five years while government factions in the People's Consultative Assembly downplayed the need for change.

The five factions in the 1,000-strong Assembly -- Golkar, the Armed Forces (ABRI), The United Development Party (PPP), Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and regional representatives -- were exchanging views on the draft of the 1998-2003 guidelines and their accompanying bylaws.

The minority PPP and PDI demanded that the next government take concrete steps to end the widespread corruption in the bureaucracy and monopolistic practices they blamed for the widening disparity that led to the economic crisis.

They said it was unrealistic to hope for a quick recovery from the hardships unless the government initiated a political overhaul along with the economic reform prescribed by the International Monetary Fund.

The PDI dismissed the 1998-2003 draft State Policy Guidelines as "too optimistic" because they were drafted before the full effects of the crisis became apparent.

The government-backed Golkar faction acknowledged the increasing demand for government bureaucrats to be "more open" to the wishes of the people they are supposed to serve.

It underlined the need for government officials to improve their service standards, professionalism, discipline and integrity.

The powerful ABRI and regional representatives, which usually take the same stand as Golkar on fundamental issues, accepted the draft prepared by the Assembly working committee that comprises representatives from the five factions.

The draft will be finalized on Friday and Saturday.

PPP spokesman Endin A.J. Soefihara pointed out that corrupt practices in the bureaucracy could be traced from the government's policy to require civil servants to support "a certain grouping", an obvious reference to Golkar.

"One way to create clean governance is to free civil servants from such a political burden so they can serve no one but the people regardless of their background," he said.

Favoritism

The Moslem-based party was also steadfast in its longstanding demand for the government to stop favoring Golkar in general elections over the minority parties

"There is no way to defeat the political organization (Golkar) because it has the support of the military and the bureaucracy," another PPP spokesman, Muhammad Kaoy Syah, said.

PPP and PDI repeated their long-held demand that political organizations should be allowed to establish branch offices at all administrative levels, from the provincial down to the village.

"This would allow them to have direct contact with their supporters at the grassroots level," PDI faction spokesman Anthonius Rahail said.

Under the present laws, PPP, PDI and Golkar are allowed to open branch offices only down to the regency level. PPP and PDI charge that this policy benefits Golkar because all administrative chiefs are required to become Golkar members, giving village chiefs a free hand to mobilize support for Golkar.

PPP and PDI also demanded that they be involved in all planning and implementation stages of the general election.

Golkar, through one of its senior members Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, President Soeharto's eldest daughter, stressed the need to stop power abuses in the bureaucracy.

"Corruption, collusion, nepotism and other forms of abuse of power will hamper the implementation of development," she said. "Only after the problem is resolved will the much-idealized clean and respectable government come about."

But Golkar rejected calls for the guidelines to be revised. Hardiyanti said they already allowed the government to take all necessary steps in case of unexpected crises as is happening now.

On religious affairs, the ABRI faction agreed with the PPP proposal that future guidelines should include a clause recommending that mystical believers should be made to choose one of the five religions sanctioned by the government.

The PPP argued that the Constitution guarantees the rights of religious believers, not mystical believers. (team)