New group vows to revamp people's perceptions
New group vows to revamp people's perceptions
JAKARTA (JP): A new independent organization introduced to the public yesterday has staked out a big mission for itself: to start a revolution in the way Indonesians perceive current political, social and economic realities.
Forintek 66, short for Forum Interaksi Enam-enam, has been started by the former activists who played a pivotal role in toppling President Sukarno's Old Order government and paving the way for Soeharto to rise to power.
The new organization means to accommodate Indonesians fed up with corruption, widening economic disparities and continuing social injustices but don't trust any of existing organizations to get their ideas across.
A breakaway of the elitist Forum Komunikasi 66 (Fosko 66), it was formed on Oct. 1 last year and introduced to the public yesterday in a Central Jakarta low-cost flat to symbolize its commitment to defend the oppressed.
Forintek founders said they decided to go separate ways out of disappointment that Fosko 66 has become an exclusive group, which is close to the bureaucracy and ignorant of the oppressed.
"Many of the 66 activists are so blinded by their comfort in the bureaucracy to see the bitter realities before their eyes," said Julius Usman, one of the Forintek founders.
Grouping senior 1966 activists like Andi Saari, Julius Usman, Eki Syachrudin, Michael Wangge, Indra Adil and Yus M. Mochtar, Forintek aims to empower the weak, strengthen law enforcement and push for democracy.
Forintek activists acknowledged the agenda overlaps with that of many other pro-democracy groups with no apparent results.
"We mean to revolutionize the way people think of current realities," Indra Adil said.
He argued that what the existing organizations, and the mass media, fail to do is to convince the public that something concrete has to be done to empower themselves in the face of an overly strong government.
This, he said, is an area that Forintek wants to explore.
Julius added that the organization aims to pool ideas from wider spectrums in the society to critically review the 30-year- old New Order government's performance.
He said he believed that rampant corruption, collusion and numerous social ills are a sign that a lot has to be done to straighten the system out.
Forintek is the latest organization to pop up over the past several months amid widespread worries that national unity is being eaten away by the re-emergence of sectarian, religious- based organizations.
Among the high-profile new organizations established last year were the National Brotherhood Foundation, the New PNI, and the New Masyumi.
Meanwhile, executives of Ikatan Laskar Arief Rahman Hakim, another association of former 66 student activists met with President Soeharto yesterday to report on their plan to celebrate the 30rd anniversary of Tritura, the historic day when they pressed home their demand that President Sukarno move to lower prices, dissolve the Indonesian Communist Party and reshuffle the cabinet.
Led by association chief Jusril Jusan, the delegation members Eki Syachrudin, Fahmi Idris and Abdul Gafur, also presented their views on current political and economic views to the President.
Eki told journalists that he expressed the activists' disappointment over the overall performance of members of the House of Representatives.
Eki said he told the President that it was high time Indonesia had a strong legislative body to defend the peoples' interests. He proposed that the electoral system be changed into a first- past-the post system.
But Soeharto responded that the proposed system will be unsuitable until Indonesians in general are politically mature enough, Eki said. (pan)