Observers warn of possible leadership crisis

JAKARTA (JP): Several political observers over the weekend voiced their frustration with the "lack of statesmanship and leadership" in society and warned that the condition could lead to a leadership crisis.

"We lack good leaders at the top layer of society," said political scientist Ryaas Rasyid, rector of the Institute of Public Administration, during a political discussion Saturday.

Ryaas, human rights campaigner Roekmini Koesoemastoeti and politician Matori Abdul Djalil identified during the discussion numerous flaws in the current political system and suggested several possible cures.

The three agreed that the current political elite is not responsive to the people's aspirations and that it lacks good leaders. They concurred that an "enlightenment" is needed to correct the situation.

Roekmini, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights and former legislator from the Armed Forces faction, pointed out that many people in the political elite are not aware of the people's legal and political rights.

"They're unresponsive toward people's demands. They forget that the government belongs to the people, not to them," she said in the discussion held by the Forum of Political Journalists.

"What develops then is a political culture which is similarly inert," she said. "The political format that develops is one that is distant from the people's sovereignty."

She called for a change in the political system, but one that should come about peacefully.

"Through enlightenment the political leaders should be told to sharpen their awareness of the people's political rights," she said. "They should be reminded that they can't be the sole interpreters nor the ones to determine everything."

Ryaas said that the values underlying political life will have to be changed gradually. "Democracy should not be an enterprise of the political elite, of the intellectuals alone," he said. "An exchange of many views on democracy should take place...It will take time to build democracy."

The observers agreed that the press could help "enlighten" the political elite. "Write about how a democratic government should be, how it should respect people's rights," Ryaas suggested.

One of the things that should be corrected is an administration which is too centralized, the observers agreed. "Such an administration is a hindrance to the people's sovereignty, because the government regards itself as the most powerful and righteous institution," Ryaas said.

"In this condition, there's no empowerment of the people. The sovereignty of the people, something guaranteed in the Constitution, is non-existent," said the rector of the Institute for Public Administration Studies.

He pointed out that members of the government come from the people and should first serve the people. "What we need is a government by the people," he said. "A good government is one that rules the least and meets people's demands even before they are made."

The three observers also agreed on the need to empower the people. The process, they said, will start when the influence of the power holders is reduced along with the people's dependence on them.

"How can you have empowerment if every time you hold a congress you have to ask the government for financial assistance?" Ryaas said in reference to the procedures that must be followed by political organizations.

Matori pointed out that the institutions needed to develop a democracy already exist, including the House of Representatives, the People's Consultative Assembly, political parties and general elections.

"But they do not function well because the state's power is much too domineering," said Matori, the former secretary-general of the Moslem-based United Development Party. "Under these conditions, we can't have democracy." (swe)