National leaders putting parties ahead of country, analysts say
National leaders putting parties ahead of country, analysts say
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Several political party leaders in charge of important state
functions have apparently put a higher priority on campaigning
for the 2004 election to the detriment of long-term national
interests and their day-to-day work, analysts claim.
Economist Sjahrir and political analyst Syamsuddin Haris both
criticized national leaders for being too busy taking care of
their own parties and remaining less than committed to efforts
aimed at reviving the economy.
"Five years have passed since Soeharto was ousted in 1998, and
we have had three presidents since then, but our economy has only
become worse. It is high time for our leaders to focus on
economic recovery programs," Sjahrir, chairman of the Alliance of
New Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post.
Syamsuddin, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute
of Sciences (LIPI), added: "The delay of all national agendas is
causing serious problems and many people are suffering from the
prolonged economic crisis. Many people are outraged over unjust
law enforcement."
Four top leaders -- President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Vice
President Hamzah Haz, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar
Tandjung, and People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais
-- are all chairmen of their respective parties.
Megawati is also chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the biggest faction in both the
House and the Assembly.
Hamzah is chairman of the Muslim-based United Development
Party (PPP), Akbar Tandjung is chairman of the former ruling
Golkar Party, and Amien Rais is chairman of the National Mandate
Party (PAN).
Almost immediately after they were elected into their
respective positions, the public urged them to quit their
positions in their respective parties in order to focus on the
serious tasks at hand, but all ignored the calls.
"This shows they are still focusing on their short-term
political interests even though they have been entrusted to lead
the nation," Syamsuddin lamented.
"If such a tendency continues up to the 2004 elections,
burning issues like economic recovery, security problems, and law
enforcement will not be addressed properly," he added.
He noted that such a situation would also hamper the
democratization process as it could be exploited by anti-
democratic groups to criticize civilian politicians as not
capable of resolving national problems.
Meanwhile, Jimly Asshidiqie of the Habibie Center, added
that in the early stages of the reform movement, there were
strong demands from the public for government officials wishing
to set up or join a political party to leave their key positions
in the government.
"There should be a clear prohibition for holding two positions
simultaneously, particularly for the president and vice
president," said Jimly, adding that such a provision should be
included in the Constitution.
According to Jimly, who is an expert in constitutional law,
the president and vice president should not hold two positions at
the same time because they are expected to focus solely on
leading the nation including the huge bureaucratic structure from
the highest to the lowest levels throughout the country.
"We have felt the impact of double positions. We consider it
as a cost in our transitional process. Therefore we should have a
clear rule prohibiting our leaders from holding two positions at
the same time," he told the Post.