Observers warn of possible leadership crisis

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)