Political reform and transparency urgent: Miriam

DEPOK, West Java (JP): The government must empower the people's legislative institutions if it wants to revive an ailing political system, an expert said Saturday.

Miriam Budiardjo, one of the country's most senior political scientists, urged the government to cure the politics which has resorted to practices once deemed inappropriate.

"Many things which we used to consider unacceptable we now see as proper and common practice," Miriam said in an oration titled Accountability in Political Science after receiving an honorary doctorate at the University of Indonesia on Saturday.

"We should restore our political life as we are now endeavoring to do with our economic life," Miriam, who is the first woman to receive the degree since its inception in 1956, said.

She stressed the necessity of revitalizing institutions such as the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the House of Representatives (DPR) "in accordance with the constitution".

Miriam said that demands for reform were intensifying, as evident in the plethora of public discussions and press articles.

"These steps (toward reform) are necessary to prevent the situation from deteriorating further and getting out of control," Miriam, who is a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, said.

Miriam, 74, joins the ranks of Indonesia's first president Sukarno, first vice president Muhammad Hatta, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk, former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and former North Korean leader Kim Il-sung as recipients of the award which was first presented in 1956.

Machiavelli

Summing up her oration, Miriam noted that discussions on the theories of Italian political thinker Niccolo Machiavelli were becoming more prominent.

In his book, The Prince, Machiavelli formulated several methods for seizing and retaining power.

The 16th century political thinker suggests that any means, no matter how unscrupulous, can justifiably be used to achieve political power.

"As a lecturer on Western political thought, I'm quite happy that a thinker from the past is again grabbing people's attention. But I keep asking myself why Machiavellian tendencies are suddenly gaining such attention.

"Are there groups which hope that we will not imitate Machiavellian methods?"

She went on to quote American political scientist Peter H. Merkle, who noted that politics has both a positive and negative side.

To prevent the misuse of power a concept of political accountability has to be set up, she said.

In Indonesia's case, the control mechanism for the use of power rests with institutions such as the People's Consultative Assembly and House of Representatives.

Unfortunately, the Assembly is less than effective if the president is only accountable to it once every five years, she said.

"There is nothing wrong if the Assembly meets once a year or once in two years, before the main meeting at the end of five years to which the President is finally accountable."

Miriam also recommended that the state of the nation address, which is presented every August by the President, is followed by several days of discussion.

And the House should be more active in exercising its rights, including the right of initiative, she said.

"As a result of the House's low legislative productivity many problems which should be regulated by laws are not regulated at all, or handled through a variety of decisions by the government apparatus."

She said many questions that should be discussed in a general forum are decided by ministers, governors or other officials, thereby creating a lack of transparency in the governmental process.

"This greatly increases the scope of power of the executive bodies at all ranks, and reduces accountability and transparency in government." (10)