Next govt may not be effective: Expert

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may have won by a landslide, but it is questionable how effective his administration will be because most regional administrations and legislatures are controlled by different political parties, analysts say.

Riswandha Imawan of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta said on Monday that each political party has its own platform and programs.

"The problem is whether regional administrations and legislators coming from other parties will be willing to follow the programs of the president-elect. There could be big problems in the state administration in the next five years," he said during a discussion here on Monday.

He said that Susilo, from the Democratic Party, would likely run into opposition to his policies from the House of Representatives, the majority of whose members are from the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Golkar, PDI-P, the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), the Reform Star Party (PBR) and the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) have formed a loose coalition in the House and legislatures across the country.

At the provincial level, Riswandha said, Golkar and the PDI-P control local legislatures, while some local executives are from other political parties. Golkar and the PDI-P are the major political powers in local legislatures.

In North Sumatra, for example, Golkar and the PDI-P dominate the legislature with 20 percent and 15 percent of the seats, respectively. Susilo's Democratic Party controls only 7 percent of the seats.

The PDI-P and Golkar also dominate the Central Java provincial legislature, with 29 percent and 15 percent of the seats, respectively, while the Democratic Party has 6.6 percent of the seats.

Riswandha predicted that the state administration over the next five years would not be as smooth as it was under President Megawati. "Welcome to the complicated state administration," he said.

Analyst J. Kristiadi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies raised similar concerns. He said the complicated situation was the result of the disharmony between the presidential election system and the political party system.

"The direct presidential election system does not match the multiparty system. This must be revised in the future," he told The Jakarta Post.

Both Kristiadi and Riswandha suggested that Susilo improve his communication with political leaders and the people.

"Susilo must be able to control issues in local administrations, otherwise his administration will not run effectively," Riswandha said.

He said Susilo had to accommodate the different platforms of various political parties to win their support for his administration.

Kristiadi said Susilo must be able to use public opinion to win the support of the people. He suggested that before issuing strategic decisions, Susilo first consult the public.

Public input must be taken into account in Susilo's policies so legislators will not be so fast to oppose the policies, he said.