Political contract, a source of irony and amusement

Political contract, a source of irony and amusement

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta

When asked about the decision of President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono to oblige his ministers to sign a "political contract"
before their appointments, a senior government official who has
served three presidents replied, "You remember president
Habibie?"

According to the official, top government officials from the
central government down to the lowest tier of local government
obediently followed the habits of President B.J. Habibie, who
replaced Soeharto in 1998 and then ruled the country until
October 1999.

"When Habibie pronounced the word ekonomi in the English way,
wore a peci and hugged people and kissed their cheeks, regardless
of whether they were men or women, nearly all government
officials started pronouncing the word ekonomi like native
English speakers. They also suddenly became enthusiastic about
embracing other people," the official said laughing.

"As soon as Habibie was out, we stopped kissing each other,"
he added.

What he wanted to say was that these contracts could go the
same way as the parroting of Habibie's habits by his ministers.
In Indonesia, when a minister likes to wear batik the staff of
the ministry will very likely follow his example. Susilo once
described how one of his close aides made the same mistakes as he
did when they played golf together.

When the wife of then president Soeharto, Tien, was still
alive, it was virtually impossible for a state employee, whether
military or civilian, to divorce his wife or take another wife as
Tien was very strict about the anti-polygamy rules. After she
died in 1996, the rules slowly but surely came to be ignored.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab has
announced that all first and second echelon officials in the
ministries that he oversees will be required to sign political
contracts. According to law, all civil servants are required to
be loyal to the state and not to the government. It is not
inconceivable that the Jakarta governor, Sutiyoso, will also
order his subordinates to sign a loyalty pledge (hopefully not
just to the governor but to Jakartans as well), and for his
subordinates to also require their subordinates to ink such
documents

Journalists will likely be receiving many more invitations
from local government offices to cover similar ceremonies in the
near future.

Susilo is the country's first president who was directly
elected by the people. He clearly realized that the people want a
evidence that their new leader will perform better then his
predecessor, Megawati Soekarnoputri, in eradicating corruption
and in upholding the law. He won a strong mandate for this from
the people.

The 36-strong Cabinet have signed written pledges expressing a
readiness to be fired anytime by the President if they failed to
remain honest, clean and loyal to the state. The ministers must
also realize their only duty is to serve the President in
bringing Indonesia out its current economic difficulties.

The ministers must remember it is much more difficult to be
elected as a legislator at the local level compared to becoming a
Cabinet member. A legislator must first win the approval of his
party to be nominated as a councillor by the party and then he
must fight to win the seat together with his party. To become a
minister, however, it is enough just to get the nod from the
President.

Even without the contract, the ministers should be ashamed of
themselves if they fail to stay clean and honest. With the Koran
for Muslims, the Bible for Protestants and Catholics, and the
relevant holy books for Buddhists and Hindus, they vow to reject
"bribery in any form, and to be loyal to the state" during their
installation ceremonies.

But it is not uncommon that such swearing-in ceremonies at the
State Palace are also attended by businessmen, who are later
found to be working closely with the ministers in enriching not
just the state but also their own pockets. There are rumors that
a fugitive from justice was those present during the installation
of the Cabinet last Thursday.

Quoting a Minang anecdote, a friend said that if he was one
day to be sworn in as a government official, he would say in his
oath, "I swear I will not accept any bribes except when I have no
choice".

We must give an opportunity to the President to prove his
commitment. Compared to his five predecessors, Susilo is not only
the president with the most legitimacy but also the best prepared
president. As a military officer, he must have been well-versed
as regards dirty practices in government, including corruption
and abuse of power.

First of all, people want to see that his family -- his two
sons, wife and relatives -- do not become involved in business,
directly or indirectly. When Megawati became president in 2001
she boasted that her family, including her husband Taufik Kiemas
and her relatives, would shun the temptation to abuse power
during her presidency. If asked now, could she still convince the
public that Taufik is as clean as she promised he would be three
years ago?

The contract is a symbol of a strong determination on the part
of Susilo to create a clean and effective government. He has
visited the tax and customs and excise offices, the Attorney
General's Office and National Police Headquarters. These four
institutions are perceived by the public as being mired in
corruption.

Despite his lack of support in the House of Representatives,
Susilo has the overwhelming support of the people. The public are
rational enough not to expect too much from their new leader.
What they expect is that Susilo will be honest, smart and
courageous enough to fulfill his promises. Indonesians understand
the mammoth task confronting him.

He has all the necessary qualifications to lead the country.
If he is able to clean up his inner circle, then people will be
convinced that he is really serious. The President has decided to
live at the Merdeka Palace so as to make his comings and goings
more visible to his people. However, we should not forget that
when president Abdurrahman Wahid lived in the palace during his
nearly two-year presidency, dodgy business people found that
access was not completely closed off to him.

The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post. He can be
reached at purba@thejakartapost.com