More opposition to decree on preemptive powers

JAKARTA (JP): Two more scholars jumped on the bandwagon of those opposing the recent motion to reintroduce a People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree that would give the president preemptive powers against subversive activities.

Dimyati Hartono of Diponegoro University's Law School in Semarang and Maswadi Rauf of the University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences separately said that a reintroduction of the decree was not only unnecessary but a setback for democratization.

Another observer, Marzuki Darusman of the National Commission on Human Rights, however, called out against being trapped by the controversy over the issue. He urged the public to instead think of ways to improve their bargaining position in their struggle for democracy.

"It would be better for them to bargain with the government so the reintroduction of the decree would not neglect the already accepted principles of democracy," Marzuki said in a separate interview on Saturday.

Dimyati disagreed. "It (the decree) would be a setback and does not agree with the world's trend toward democracy which gives people a greater role instead," Dimyati was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday.

He expressed concern that once the decree was reintroduced into the Broad Guidelines of State Policies, it would not be easy to drop later on. What Indonesia needs right now, instead, is a better implementation of the 1945 Constitution, he argued.

He pointed out that the Indonesian political system was based on democracy rather than on a centralization of power. The idea to reintroduce the decree should be reconsidered, he said.

The decree granted a president the authority to take preemptive measures against security disturbances and subversive activities. It was adopted as part of Indonesia's Broad Guidelines of State Policies in 1988, but was later dropped from the guidelines in 1993.

The ruling Golkar faction, the United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party decided recently to include the substance of the 1988 decree in their drafts of the 1998 guidelines.

The motion then invited controversy and some observers have expressed concern over a possible negative impact on the country's democratization. They pointed out that the decree was the basis for the establishment of the now defunct Kopkamtib (Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order).

In the 1970s, the body effectively handled major social and political crises but to such a point where it induced fear among many people. Some observers believed that if reintroduced the decree would give a president greater authority than what the Kopkamtib had in the past.

Earlier, Golkar's secretary-general Ary Mardjono revealed that the call to consider the reintroduction of the decree actually came from President Soeharto when he opened a training course for legislators earlier this month.

The 1988 decree says, among other things, that it "grants the authority to the President/the holder of the MPR mandate to take actions necessary to safeguard and maintain national unity and prevent and overcome social upheavals and (prevent) the repeat of (1965 communist coup attempt) and other danger of subversion."

Maswadi told The Jakarta Post the motion was not necessary as a president automatically had the authority to take action to safeguard the nation.

In the past, the President understandably needed more authority to launch preemptive security measures because when the decree was originally adopted in 1966, Indonesia was at the early stage of its New Order administration and facing political and economic instability.

"But after three decades of development, Indonesia's social, political and economic conditions have improved a lot," he said. "The idea to reintroduce the decree shows that the government lacks confidence in its own development."

Maswadi described the motion as proof that the government is haunted by "fear" and thinks that "sharp weapons" are needed to protect itself.

"People have realized, however, that the use of force is no longer appropriate to settle problems," he said.

The 1,000-strong People's Consultative Assembly will convene next March to draw up the Broad Guidelines of State Policies, and elect a president and vice president. (10/imn)