Party leaders cautious on course for legislators

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party's (PDI) chairman, Soerjadi, reacted cautiously yesterday to the proposed crash course for new legislators.

His counterpart from the United Development Party (PPP), Ismail Hasan Metareum, said he agreed in principle to the government's plan, but with conditions.

Both leaders were commenting on President Soeharto's first order to the new state minister for special assignments, Harmoko. The President told him to offer the course to legislators who will be inducted at the House of Representatives on Oct. 1.

Soeharto was quoted by the head of the Pancasila state ideology propagation agency, Alwi Dahlan, as saying Tuesday that the course was not compulsory.

Soerjadi said the PDI leadership would discuss the plan because the government's move to improve the performance of legislators was a new phenomenon.

"Each party is responsible for improving its legislators, but we are not going to make a rough assessment of the plan. We just don't want to see the government's goodwill turn out to adversely affect the country's political development," Soerjadi said.

He said he would have accepted the idea if Harmoko served as a channel between the government and the House as in other countries.

Soerjadi denied that his wariness had anything to do with Harmoko, who was sworn in yesterday, remaining chairman of the dominant party Golkar.

Golkar secured 325 of the House's 500 seats in the recent poll, compared to PPP's 89 and PDI's 10. The Armed Forces, whose members do not vote, has been allotted 75 seats.

"It seems to me that the most important problem is how to develop a House which gets even with the government.

"People perceive the government's domination over the House, and I'm afraid this (the course) will confirm their impression," said Soerjadi.

House legislators have been criticized for allegedly rubber-stamping every bill put forward by the government.

Ismail said the PPP had regularly held its own courses, but the party welcomed the course if it was not aimed at indoctrinating or dictating to legislators.

"It's impossible to say that we oppose the plan, because we have applied for it for a long time. We want the course to run in the form of discussions," Ismail said.

Introduction

He suggested that the course include an introduction to legislators' jobs and their problems, and a briefing on the House's structure and vision.

Ismail said each party should be allowed to hold its own courses outside of the government-sponsored program.

Golkar deputy chairman Moestahid Astari said the course would not pave the way for government intervention in the parties' internal affairs.

"After a successful general election, we need a course to establish a common view among legislators on continued development," Moestahid was quoted by Antara as saying.

The Golkar faction in the House will have a younger look because about 60 percent of its members will be debutants.

Incumbent House Speaker Wahono agreed that the course would not serve to indoctrinate, but to broaden legislators' minds.

Political observer Riswandha Imawan questioned the course's quality, saying that its organizer, Harmoko, had no experience as a legislator.

He was skeptical about Harmoko's impartiality. "It was so difficult to differ his capacity as minister of information from Golkar chairman, that the course looks like serving only as Golkarization," Riswandha said.

Riswandha suggested that if the government insisted on the course, it should be run in conjunction with the National Development Planning Board, not the Pancasila propagation agency.

Muladi, rector of Semarang-based Diponegoro University and member of the National Commission on Human Rights, said the course was necessary on grounds that problems with national unity had emerged in the election campaign.

"I believe the course is intended to maintain national unity, rather than indoctrinate the legislators," he said. (06/har/amd)