Party leaders cautious on course for legislators
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)