PDI-P, PAN sling mud at military
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
An official from the incumbent President's party expressed concern on Friday about the rise of military figures as the leading presidential candidates ahead of the July 5 election, saying it could pose a threat to democracy.
Deputy secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Pramono Anung Wibowo said the "fast-growing democracy" that the civilian government had built over the past five years could suffer a setback if a former military figure was elected president.
"If the future government is led by a strong figure with a military background, we believe that the entire bureaucracy below would also tend to be powerful," Pramono stated during a seminar on Friday.
Gen. (ret) Wiranto has been picked by the Golkar Party to become its presidential candidate, while Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been nominated by the Democratic Party.
Pramono claimed that PDI-P's commitment to democracy was the reason that the party's central board was not considering military officers as a running mate for President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
However, rumors had been circulating earlier suggesting that her husband Taufik Kiemas was courting Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto to be Megawati's running mate.
Endriartono has admitted receiving offers from political parties to run for their vice presidential post but rejected them on the grounds that he wanted to maintain TNI's neutrality.
Legislator A.M. Fatwa of the National Awakening Party (PAN) -- whose candidate is also a civilian, Amien Rais -- agreed with Pramono, saying that although the public desired a strong leader, what they had in mind in fact was presidential candidates with a military background.
"What they want instead is a leader who is resolute in enforcing the law and upholding human rights," Fatwa said, adding that if such a civilian leader was available, people would turn away from military candidates.
The politicians were commenting on the emergence of perhaps the two strongest contenders in the race for the presidency -- Susilo and Wiranto. Both are retired four-star generals.
The popularity of the two is seen as a sign that the Indonesian Military (TNI) is making a return to politics, after their notorious Dual Function role was scrapped by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) five years ago.
Analyst Philip Jusario Vermonte of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that the people's preference for military figures over civilian politicians could be blamed on the civilian's tendency to cozy up with them in recent years.
"In the past five years, after the demise of the New Order rule we have seen dozens of former military generals who were recruited to become members of a number political parties' central boards," he said.
He also said that the civilian government had failed to establish regulations that could prevent the military's possible comeback in the political arena. "We, civilians, failed to do that when in fact we had the chance to do so," Philip said.
He said that what would transpire in the next presidential election was reminiscent of the standoff between the reform- minded civilian leaders known as the "Ciganjur group" and the TNI, then represented by Wiranto and Susilo.
"At that time, the Ciganjur group, spearheaded by Amien Rais, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati pressed ahead with the reform agenda after the fall of former president Soeharto. But then came Wiranto and Susilo who pushed back," he said.