No change in govt approach to stability, says historian
No change in govt approach to stability, says historian
JAKARTA (JP): A senior historian said yesterday the government
has not made any significant changes in its staunch approach
toward stability in 52 years of independence.
Ong Hok Ham of the National Institute of Science said at a
seminar held by the Center for Political Studies and Public
Advocacy that the current debate pitting stability against
reformation of the politically elite was inherited from the past.
"Classic disputes between stability and reformation also
occurred in the past, although the players differed from those of
today," he said.
Ong was referring to Australian political scientist Herbert
Feith's observation that the Indonesian elite under Sukarno were
divided into solidarity-making groups and problem-solving groups.
Ong said president Sukarno typified solidarity makers who
pushed for solidarity for the sake of national stability. The
group believed that the Indonesian revolution had yet to finish,
and therefore national stability was endangered.
The other group, led by former vice president Mohammad Hatta
and former prime minister Sutan Sjahrir, opposed Sukarno, saying
that Indonesia should make development and democracy its top
priorities.
Ong noted that the government was not at all lenient toward
opposition.
"Government's policy toward opposition has become extra tough
now. Any opposition, even though it does not lead to a coup
d'etat, is always considered serious now," Ong said.
Another speaker at the seminar, Hermawan Sulistyo, said
political freedom in the country has been restricted by the
floating mass policy which was introduced prior to the 1977
general election.
The policy bans political organizations from districts and
lower administrative levels.
It has drawn criticism because it favors the bureaucracy-
supported Golkar faction, with the fact that all heads of
districts and subdistricts are included in the bureaucracy.
Hermawan said the depolitization process remained in force
because some key figures in the country's politically elite group
suffered "old wounds" caused by the mass violence triggered by
the abortive coup attempt, blamed on the now defunct Indonesian
Communist Party, in 1965.
"After 30 years, the trauma has not faded because figures of
that generation are still here playing pivotal roles in the
decision-making process," said Hermawan, also from the National
Institute of Science. (14/amd)