People at the heart of reform

Berni K. Moestafa and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Another year of the reform era has passed and people continue to criticize the reform movement as ineffective, slow or just plain dead.

Some people are impatiently waiting for some results from the reform movement, like improved welfare and less corruption, while others have just grown apathetic about the whole thing.

To keep the spirit of reform alive, according to the experts, people need patience, because the process of reform takes a long time.

"Reform takes time, this is a matter of time," Daniel Sparingga, a political observer at Airlangga University in Surabaya, said earlier this week.

The nation began the process of reform in 1998, when students led a movement for political reform that ended Soeharto's 32-year rule.

Four years into the era of reform, however, hopes for a democratic nation that upholds the people's sovereignty remain just hopes.

The once centralistic government delegated many of its powers to the regions and held the country's first free elections in 1999.

These watershed developments may show that democracy is taking shape, but they fall short of ensuring the people's sovereignty, said Daniel.

Corruption and political instability reign, which analysts blame on too much politicking within the government and the House of Representatives.

To some, the reform movement's only achievement was that of greater transparency resulting from a free press.

"But it is a transparency without results. What's the use of transparency if no one listens to the people's aspirations," said Soy M. Pardede, a senior executive with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Daniel said minor setbacks along the road to democracy were discouraging but normal.

According to him, Indonesia is going through the same transition period that other countries have gone through or are still going through.

Neighbors like Thailand and the Philippines experienced reform movements similar to the one in Indonesia. In Thailand students led the fight against the military regime there, and in the Philippines, president Marcos' authoritarian rule was ended by the movement known as People Power.

And more than 10 years after reform movements swept through communists countries in Eastern Europe, most of these countries have yet to complete the transition period. Some of these countries are even seeing a rise in popularity for communist parties.

Imam Prasodjo, a sociologist at the University of Indonesia, said that in Indonesia, the public could accelerate the reform movement by stepping up pressure against the government.

He said concerted efforts should focus on institution building to allow for the practices of good governance.

For democracy to take hold, according to Daniel, it requires more than just political reforms.

The distribution of power is part of democracy and necessary to limit corruption, Daniel said.

This, he said, calls for greater public control, the effectiveness of which depends on the presence of a civil society.

"It is very, very hard to engineer the creation of a civil society," Daniel said. "People evolve a into civil society rather than just become one."

But if anything, Imam said, people have themselves to blame for the state of the reform movement four years on. People are the ones who can set the direction, pace and scope of the reform movement.

"Pro-democracy activists, the press, students, academics, non- governmental organizations and others should unite to keep the reform movement on the right track," Imam said.