MPR session may fail to uphold people's aspirations

MPR session may fail to uphold people's aspirations

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is scheduled to hold
an extraordinary session in Jakarta on Nov. 10-13 to endorse the
general election process of May 1999. Political sciences lecturer
Mochtar Mas'oed of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta sees a
strong possibility of its failure to accommodate aspirations
developing among the people.

Question: Do you expect that the MPR will be able to
accommodate aspirations developing among the people during its
extraordinary session next week?

Mochtar: It's very difficult to expect the MPR to accommodate
the people's changing aspirations because its current members
when they were recruited in 1997 during the New Order era were
not prepared to accommodate reform aspirations. We cannot expect
the MPR, whose membership has not changed, to discuss changes of
policies. In comparison, the Assembly was able to formulate
changes of policies at the start of the New Order era in the
second half of the 1960s because most of its members had been
replaced.

Q: Two of the MPR's five factions have proposed the participation
of opposition leaders, such as Amien Rais, Megawati Soekarnoputri
and Abdurrahman Wahid, in the Assembly's special session but all
of them have refused to accept such a proposal. Would their
participation help improve the MPR's performance?

M: No. Their votes will mean nothing in comparison with those of
the majority of the 1,000-member Assembly. Developing a different
body of opinion will need a large number of votes.

Q: Do you think that the MPR's working procedures, which have
started with the formulation of draft decisions by its Working
Committee, will facilitate the accommodation of the people's
aspirations?

M: We can see that the Working Committee has been heavily
influenced by the majority faction, Golkar. and everything
decided by the committee, therefore, will be okayed by the MPR in
its plenary sessions. Golkar, as the single majority, will surely
set working procedures that will eliminate the possibilities for
other factions to propose policy alternatives. Its strategy will
be directed towards damage limitation where its own interests are
concerned.

Therefore, it will be very difficult to expect the MPR to
declare the agenda already set by the Working Committee open for
further deliberations at plenary sessions. I think the only way
to force the MPR to take initiatives to change the agenda is the
mobilization of strong pressures outside the MPR compound. That
means that there will be demonstrations to encourage pro-reform
members to work seriously to voice the people's aspirations.

Q: What are the most important issues that the MPR has to address
to meet the people's demands?

M: In its extraordinary meeting, the MPR must focus its
deliberations merely on central, strategic issues. The MPR, for
example, must redefine the institutional relationship between the
President and the House of Representatives (DPR) and other high-
ranking institutions, as well as the relationship between the
central government and local administrations. The MPR must
determine whether or not President B.J. Habibie is merely a
transitional leader and formulate a clear, reconciliatory vision
for the country in solving its economic and political crises. The
MPR must also endorse technical procedures ensuring that the
coming general election is the vehicle of the people, while the
government is merely a facilitator. On the elimination of
corruption, collusion and nepotism, the MPR can issue a decree on
measures that should be taken by the government to eliminate such
practices in a bid to create good governance.

Q: Do you see the government and the Armed Forces (ABRI)
developing an atmosphere conducive for the MPR to accommodate
changing aspirations?

M: I don't see that they have any interest in it. They are just
interested in their own survival. They will simply emphasize the
importance of unity and integrity and warn that freedom of
expression has been misused. They will not support any idea of
drastic changes.

Q: What may happen if the MPR fails to accommodate the people's
aspirations?

M: The MPR is most likely to fail to accommodate the people's
aspirations because Golkar, which will try to limit damage to
itself following the downfall of former president Soeharto on May
21 might limit changes towards democratization in the belief that
drastic democratization will increase uncertainty -- a condition
which will not support economic development. Many parties,
therefore, will be disappointed and a recurrence of rioting is
possible. If rioting does happen, ABRI will find difficulties in
managing it because one of its forces, the Navy, will most likely
refuse to join in any repressive measures.

Q: How could we avoid such trouble?

M: I think we have no alternatives other than having the MPR
accommodate the people's aspirations and its factions must be
ready to compromise on ideas in order to avoid confrontations.

Q: Is it possible for the new political parties to boycott the
coming general election if the MPR fails to be accommodating?

M: Boycotting is possible for small parties but new parties with
large support, like Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party, the
National Mandate Party and the People's Awakening Party, will not
boycott it because such a stratagem will disappoint their
supporters. (riz)