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.