Next govt may not be effective: Expert

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.