'New Order ghosts' still around
'New Order ghosts' still around
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Political observers expressed concern on Saturday that amid
the crisis of leadership the nation was facing, the government of
President Megawati Soekarnoputri had failed to accommodate the
aspirations of the people.
Firing their ammunition at the government from all corners,
the observers said that the current government lacked vision and
competence, and was susceptible to corruption and collusion.
"The government has so far failed to deliver a clear vision to
people as to how they intend to lead people to prosperity," Ryaas
Rasyid, chairman of the Indonesian Society for Government Studies
(MIPI), told a seminar held by the organization.
Citing a few of many examples, Ryaas, a former regional
autonomy minister, said the government did not have a master plan
nor did it have the competence to help people emerge from the
economic and social crises.
The one-day seminar was also attended by local government
officials across the country.
Other speakers at the seminar, which was entitled
"Governmental Prospects in the Year 2002", were Afan Gaffar, J.
Kristiadi and Maswadi Ra'uf.
Afan, from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, made the
allegation that Megawati's government was emulating the corrupt
New Order practices.
He said there was growing concern that the present government
was turning itself into the second edition of the New Order,
which ruled supreme under Soeharto.
"The government lacks transparency in the decision-making
processes and allows collusion and political patronage to grow as
a common practice," he said.
The absence of transparency, he said, was visible in the
controversial debt settlement program (PKPS), which many said
would cost the country Rp 447 billion.
The controversy centers on the government's decision to extend
the grace period for large debtors -- especially banks that were
given government bailout loans in 1997 and 1998 -- to 10 years
from the initial four years under the Master of Acquisition and
Settlement Agreements (MSAA).
Afan said Megawati's appointment of her husband Taufik Kiemas
as a special envoy who led an Indonesian trade delegation to
China recently was clear evidence of collusion.
Several delegation members were ministers under Megawati's
cabinet, including Minister for Trade and Industry Rini M.
Soewandi.
Afan said that the appointment would have been considered
normal, had it been done in a transparent process.
"Former U.S. president Bill Clinton once nominated his wife
Hillary to head the Health Care Reform program. This did not
spark a problem, since Clinton proposed the appointment through a
transparent manner by seeking the Congress' approval," he said.
The Congress rejected the proposal.
According to Ryaas, those contentious factors -- vision-less,
incompetence and corruption -- would sooner or later erode
people's trust in the government.
This would endanger effective operation and even survival of
the government.
"Without trust, the country will not likely achieve social,
economic and political stability. The trust is important since it
is the essence of good governance.
Without trust, all bad things including doubts, suspicions and
resentment will prevail in all levels of society, especially
toward the government," he said.
The country, therefore, needed strong, enlightening and
decisive leaders to restore trust in the government, he said.
"The government should build an image that it has competence
to deal with the country's social and economic problems. It must
also have a clear vision, which can only be obtained by
understanding what people need and how to quickly meet it," he
said.
Ryaas added that government officials should be better role
models, and should take firm and decisive actions.
"The government must be diligent and avoid any moves that will
bring harm to people," he said.