Political reform unlikely: Scholar
Political reform unlikely: Scholar
SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): Political reform is unlikely to occur in Indonesia in the foreseeable future, despite the increasing demand for it, according to a political analyst.
Afan Gaffar says that the political institutionalization that the New Order government has been pursuing over the past two decades is simply too strong to allow reform to take place.
Besides that, he claims, there are strong indications that the people are generally in favor of maintaining the present political system because they feel it is conducive to continued economic development.
"This situation makes change difficult in the current political system," the political scientist from the Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University said in a seminar here last week.
According to Afan, reform will be possible only if the laws governing the political process are revised, something which is close to impossible, he said, if the initiative is expected to come from the ruling Golkar party.
"Golkar will definitely reject any idea of amending the laws because it would harm, rather than promote, its interests," said the scholar, who has been praised for his outspokenness.
Calls for a political overhaul have been made repeatedly by the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). They almost always raise the issue during sessions of the People's Consultative Assembly, which are held once every five years prior to the presidential election.
Currently, the demand is being amplified by political activists. In Jakarta, a Surabaya student has been on a hunger strike, demanding a change to numerous laws on the political process which he says are retarding democracy.
Afan said that the New Order government did not adequately allow the people to participate in the political decision-making process.
"However, I hope there will be gradual change for the better," he said.
Afan welcomed those of the government's policies which he viewed as paving the way for democracy, such as the establishment of the National Commission on Human Rights and the plan to slash the number of seats reserved for the Armed Forces in the House of Representatives.
The government has also promised to give the PPP and the PDI a greater say in the conduct of general elections.
However, Afan said he doubted that the current flurry of activity would bring about any significant progress towards democratization.
"I doubt that the future election will be more democratic. So long as the election is not conducted by an independent institution, we cannot expect it will be democratic," he said.
Currently, general elections are carried out by the government, whose officials are members of the Golkar party.
The establishment of the National Commission on Human Rights was heartening, he said, although it mainly served as a mediator in conflicts between the people and the state or private companies. (har/pan)