Political scientists baffled by intolerance of dissent

JAKARTA (JP): Senior political scientists Miriam Budiardjo and Priyatmoko admitted yesterday they were baffled as to why the Indonesian political elite were so intolerant of disunity that any sign of dissent was immediately crushed.

"I cannot explain it to you...," said Miriam, the former dean of the University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences, when asked to explain why some members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) had been threatened with dismissal if they voted against leading candidate B.J. Habibie.

"It's a very difficult question to answer, it's part of a very long process, it's part of our political culture that has evolved over the past 30 years (of the New Order administration)," said Miriam, who is also a member of the National Commission on Human Rights.

Miriam, considered to be the doyenne of Indonesian political science, was the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Indonesia. The honor was conferred on her last December.

"I am not sure why," said Priyatmoko, a staff lecturer at Airlangga University's School of Social and Political Sciences in Surabaya. "They have been overacting, turning the current political process into something so sacred that it cannot be questioned."

"It's like the political elite are afraid of their own shadows," Priyatmoko added. "They used to fear for national unity and stability. Now, their fear is even bigger so that even Assembly members are terrorized with threats of dismissal."

Priyatmoko pointed out that the Indonesian political system was buckling so much under the burden of maintaining the establishment that it was losing touch with the real dynamics of the people.

"If this situation persists, the existing political institutions will decay. People will no longer believe that these institutions, including the People's Consultative Assembly, have the right to uphold the very reasons why they were established in the first place," Priyatmoko said yesterday.

"The prospect is horrifying," he added.

Earlier this week, faction leaders in the People's Consultative Assembly cautioned their members against voting for senior economist Emil Salim in the vice presidential election next month.

Abdul Gafur, deputy chairman of the ruling Golkar organization, went as far as threatening dissenting members with dismissal. The same strong call on members to toe their parties' line was made regarding interrupting the General Session.

In Indonesian politics, the interruption of an MPR session by members, either to ask questions or raise objections, is considered a faux pas, or even a taboo. Some faction leaders have called the act of interrupting a session an example of rebellion.

The last interruption, which made headlines for days, was by Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Saleh of the Armed Forces faction just before the 1988 General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly was to elect the vice president. Ibrahim was later dismissed from the faction.

Political scientist Indria Samego from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences told Antara yesterday that interrupting a meeting was legitimate in a democracy.

In real politics, however, Indonesians have only a "limited democracy," he said. "Political participation is limited only to those in the elite."

The secretary-general of the People's Consultative Assembly, Afif Ma'roef, told reporters that his office was abiding by the body's statutes by preparing ballot boxes should voting be necessary.

"We are anticipating the worst," he said. (byg/swe)