Now is not the time for political reform, says Sarwono

Now is not the time for political reform, says Sarwono

BANDUNG (JP): Calls for political reform, coming as they are
in the middle of Indonesia's struggle to restore the nation's
economic life, are inappropriate, an official says.

State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, speaking
in his personal capacity, said now was not the time for people to
discuss political reform, especially if they only had vague
definitions of what reform was and translated this narrowly as
leadership succession.

"The time frame is not appropriate," he said here Saturday.
"Our focus now, our short-term goal, is to restore the economy,
and stabilize people's lives, those who have lost their jobs,
encountered difficulties in finding basic necessities.

"These problems cannot be solved instantly by political
reform," said the former secretary-general of the dominant
Golkar.

He conceded the nation should one day discuss reform, but not
until after the economic turmoil is solved. "We need to make
political reform an agenda of ours. After we solve the economic
crisis and establish stability. Then we can talk about what kind
of reform we want," he said.

He criticized those who have been calling for reform as being
too vague about what they wanted and having such a narrow view of
reform that they merely offered up new names for leadership
positions.

Earlier last week Sarwono had praised those calling for
alternative presidential candidates, saying the move was proof of
democratization.

Over the past few months, "reform" has become the public
catchword. Government critics have intensified their calls for
economic and political reforms, and have been quick to point out
that any solution offered by the government, to the economic
downturn, would be ineffective unless accompanied by reform.

Some critics have said that reforms can only be carried out,
and public confidence be restored in the government and the
economy, by electing a new president.

Among those calling for reform are the 100 young activists who
demonstrated in Yogyakarta on Thursday for presidential
succession.

Starting from the local office of the Association of Islamic
Students, they marched down Jl. Malioboro waving banners and
posters, and shouting slogans.

Some of their yells were: "Go ahead with succession" and
"Reduce prices, eliminate monopoly, eradicate corruption."

They also demanded the government be transparent in its
handling of the economic crisis.

"Basically, we, the young, can no longer be patient. We want
change," said on of the youths, Azwar Yusuf, told the local
legislators who met the protesters.

"We want economic and political reform that benefits the
people," he said.

Similar demonstrations were held by hundreds of Bandung
Institute of Technology students at their campus Friday.

They demanded the government be serious in its handling of the
economic crisis and stop attempting to appease the public with
jargon only.

Separately, State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono
Isman, in his personal capacity, also spoke out against the
critical calls.

He was quoted by Antara as saying Saturday that there was no
guarantee that the Indonesian people would fare better during the
monetary crisis if President Soeharto were to be replaced.

"It is precisely because we are still led by Pak Harto that
things are improving," he said at a function of Kosgoro, an
organization affiliated to the dominant Golkar.

He lashed out at those who are blaming Soeharto for the
economic crisis and demanding his replacement.

"Do those people have any guarantee that things will get
better by replacing Pak Harto? No, there's no such thing. Those
people don't even know who would be a suitable (President)
replacement."

He said he was grateful to God that Indonesia had a leader
like Soeharto, and expressed confidence that the President would
find a way to lead the nation out of the monetary crisis.
(43/44/swe)