Political bills offer no guarantee of fair polls

The government has delivered three political bills to the House of Representatives (DPR), which is expected to deliberate them after the current Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). Political science lecturer Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia (UI) analyses the prospect of them directing the nation towards democratization.

Question: Do you think that the political bills will accommodate the people's aspirations, particularly those on the abolition of the Armed Forces' (ABRI) sociopolitical role.

Arbi Sanit: The fate of the bills will depend very much on the results of MPR's current session, which is expected to produce a decree providing guidelines for the bills. The deployment of three-layer security forces, comprising ABRI personnel, security branches of civil organizations and pro-President B.J. Habibie youths, indicates that the government and the military itself do not want to abolish ABRI's sociopolitical role.

Because MPR is dominated by the pro-government Golkar ruling party, ABRI faction and the faction of regional representatives, the only way to influence MPR members to revise the draft decree is to impose strong pressures outside the MPR building through massive demonstrations, so that the United Development Party (PPP), a minor party which is trying to uphold the people's aspirations, will obtain strong support. But the employment of heavy security measures are exposing demonstrators to high risks.

However, the recent joint calls of four prominent pro-reform leaders -- Abdurrahman Wahid of Nahdlatul Ulama, Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party, Megawati Soekarnoputri of the splintered Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI Perjuangan) and Yogyakarta monarch Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X -- for the gradual elimination of ABRI's sociopolitical role within six years will be very effective.

So, the MPR session is most likely to agree on the draft decree that will accommodate ABRI representatives in the DPR but their number will be subject to tough arguments in DPR sessions.

Q: One of the political bills says that the DPR members should total 550, comprising 495 representatives of political parties and 55 ABRI personnel, and that they, together with 150 regional representatives, will form the MPR. What do you say about it?

A: Even if the number of ABRI representatives were to be reduced from the current 75 to 55, that number is still too big because it will be 10 percent of the total number of DPR members, while the number of ABRI personnel is only about 500,000 or less than 0.25 percent of the country's 202 million population. Furthermore, this number as a proportion of the proposed number of MPR members will increase to 7.85 percent from 7.5 percent at present.

I think the reduction of the number to between 10 and 15, as proposed by Amien Rais recently, is good for the time being before ABRI's participation in the DPR is abolished within six years.

Q: Do you see that the reduction of the number will help improve democratization?

A: No. Their presence in the DPR will diminish the process of democracy because they will implement bureaucratic politics in the council. Furthermore, their political interests will prevent them from being neutral towards the different interests of society members.

Q: What do you say about the proposed requirements for the establishment of new political parties?

A: They are not fair because a requirement that a new party must be supported by at least one million members and have branches in the half of the country's provinces and regencies, for example, will cause difficulties to new parties in making themselves prepared to take part in the coming general election planned for May 1999.

A requirement that a political party must have the state ideology of Pancasila as its sole ideology base will also hinder fair competition because Pancasila will be used as pretext to prevent any party from disclosing the weaknesses of other parties. Golkar will benefit from such a requirement because its past mistakes of principle cannot be discussed by other parties.

Q: How about civil servants' participation in general elections?

A: It is true that the bill on general elections will allow civil servants to elect anyone from any party as a DPR member but Golkar will still be able to use their historical loyalty to it for its own advantage because they, as a consequence of the absence of their right to be elected, may not join other parties.

Q: What is your comment about the guidelines for the establishment of general election committees?

A: Even though political parties will be involved in such committees, the government will still be able to dominate their operations because representatives from the government, Golkar and ABRI will be there. The participation of ABRI personnel there will also intimidate other committee members trying to raise any different opinions.

What is strange is that any local committee will involve only five political parties, whereas about 100 new parties have now been established. Thus, many parties will feel unfairly treated. (riz)