PAN leaders say goodbye to their civil servant jobs

JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien Rais and secretary-general Faisal Basri are among the first politicians who have decided to abandon their posts in the bureaucracy.

Golkar deputy secretary-general Din Syamsudin is one of the first to say goodbye to Golkar, in order to retain his position at the Ministry of Manpower and to facilitate his becoming a professor at a state college.

The three are among many of the country's 4.1 million civil servants who are also members of political parties. The enactment on Wednesday of Government Regulation No. 5/1999 concerning the political neutrality of the bureaucracy has meant that employees of the state must choose whether to pursue a career as a bureaucrat or a politician within the next three months.

The regulation itself will soon be revised following harsh protest from the United Development Party (PPP) over its content.

"I will resign from my position, as will Pak Amien from the (Yogyakarta-based) Gadjah Mada University," Faisal said on Thursday.

Faisal is a lecturer of economics at the University of Indonesia (UI), while Amien Rais is a professor at the School of Social Political Sciences at Gadjah Mada University.

Amien, known for his criticism of former president Soeharto's New Order regime, has not yet officially received the title of professor from the government.

Faisal conceded his party would be considerably affected by the new policy as many of its members and executives are civil servants.

"Civil servants are already prepared to sacrifice (to either abandon politics or the bureaucracy) so we also hope that the Armed Forces (ABRI) members are also ready to make similar decisions," Faisal said.

The regulation stipulates that civil servants who pursue political activities will lose their posts in the bureaucracy but retain their status and receive compensation which could last for up to five years.

In addition, the civil servants must report to their respective superiors their membership in political parties and their political activities over the next three months.

Those who fail to report will be dismissed.

"General Wiranto must be aware that there are thousands of ABRI members in legislative councils from the House of Representatives down to the regency level, while the military only has only 500,000 personnel," Faisal said.

After fierce debates the House agreed on Wednesday to provide ABRI with 38 unelected seats in the 500-seat House. ABRI currently receives 75 seats.

Meanwhile, Din, who is the director-general for labor placement, said his decision to remain a civil servant was not because he did not want to lose his position at the ministry.

"In April I will have the right to apply to become a professor," Antara quoted Din as saying.

Din is currently a lecturer at the Jakarta State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN).

PAN will also lose at least one member, as an executive at its Pati branch, in Central Java, has informed the party that a civil servant post promises greater security to him and his family than a political career.

Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung said Golkar cadres had the right to make up their minds within the next three months, about one month before the general election.

"If they still want to maintain their positions as Golkar executives they have to leave their positions in the civil service," Akbar said.

Akbar, who is also minister/state secretary, said that the chief of the Civil Servants Administration Agency (BAKN), Soenarko, would soon send a special circular to government offices about the new policy.

He hinted the new policy would not affect Golkar's preparations for the elections on Jun. 7.

"The attention of Golkar leadership is focused on preparing to face the general election," he said.

In Bali, 25 of 86 executive members of the provincial Golkar executive board are civil servants. Its chairman, I. Gusti Ngurah Alit Yudha, said most of the 25 members would not resign from either their positions in the bureaucracy or Golkar.

"Most of them will reach their retirement age," said Yudha.

In Banda Aceh, Aceh province, the rector of IAIN Ar-Raniry Darussalam Banda Aceh, Safwan Idris, announced his resignation as the provincial Golkar deputy chairman because he wanted to concentrate on his academic career.

"My resignation from Golkar does not cause me any conflict," he said on Wednesday.

In Jambi, 41 of Golkar's 75-strong executive board are civil servants, many of them lecturers at local state universities.

"If they decide to leave Golkar it does not mean that they are not loyal," Golkar deputy chairman Ismail Tajudin said. (prb)