'PKI won't return, we've learned from past'

Although not all of the constitutional rights of the relatives of former members and former members of the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) have been reinstated, they can now exercise the right to vote and to run in the legislative elections. The Jakarta Post talked to some Jakarta residents about the issue.

Safira, 32, is an editor at a publishing company in Palmerah, West Jakarta. She lives with her husband in South Jakarta:

I'm totally against the decision to allow former communist party members and relatives to vote because I don't want to give them the chance to practice communism in this country for the second time.

I don't think communism deserves a place in this country. Look at the communist countries. The leaders are saying that everything they do is for their country. But the truth is that they let the people suffer while enjoying the good life themselves. Thus, I think that it's better to prevent that before it happens, rather than remedy the situation later.

Aditya, 19, is a medical student at a state university in Salemba, Central Jakarta. He lives with his parents in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta:

I think it's OK for the government to restore their right to vote. I don't think it's a threat because communism is no longer an ideology that many people in this country want to hold on to.

Just look at communist countries such as Cuba, North Korea, and the Soviet Union (now Russia). None of those countries are well-developed. The people live in poverty and the country's economy is crippled by political instability and security problems.

So, I'm not worried that communism will rise again in this country as people here aren't that ignorant. We have learned from history.

--The Jakarta Post