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

'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