Place the national interest first

Place the national interest first

The stance which the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) will be
taking in the upcoming general elections is now known. Minister
of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto made
it clear during a meeting with House of Representatives
Commission I on Thursday that ABRI would be neutral and that an
instruction to that effect would be circulated among its
personnel from the top to the bottom of its ranks. Sanctions will
be taken against anyone violating this instruction. A similar
statement was made earlier by Home Minister Syarwan Hamid, who
said that firm action would be taken against any civil servants
who violated the principle of bureaucratic neutrality.

We welcome these positive statements from both the Minister of
Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander and the Minister of
Home Affairs. Although they will still have to prove their
stance, their statements at least indicate their good judgment in
addressing recent developments in society. Gen. Wiranto's resolve
also serves to strengthen the government's hand and the ball is
now in the court of our legislators.

It seems that winds of change notwithstanding, the ruling
Golkar grouping continues to live in the grip of the New Order
syndrome, particularly through its insistence on continuing to
use the bureaucracy as part of its political machinery. However,
the possibility should not be discounted that such a stance may
in the long run prove injurious to Golkar -- more so since a
growing number of people view the June 7 general election as a
starting point for the Indonesian nation to build a clean, open
and democratic civil society.

In this context, one could say that putting the national
interest above anything else would not mean defeat for Golkar. On
the contrary, people would see it as a noble sacrifice made for
the sake of the nation's future well-being.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta