Political temperature rises

Political temperature rises

The Minister of Home Affairs, Moch. Yogie SM, has admitted that the political temperature is rising pending the 1997 general elections. The minister called the phenomenon natural and even positive for being a token of animation in our political life.

We agree with the minister that the important thing to note is not the rising of the political temperature in itself. What deserves attention is that a rising political temperature could well lead to a narrowing of interests. For that reason maintaining order in our political activities is still needed to bring moderation to the activities and inspire greater political participation.

The 1997 general elections and the 1998 session of the People's Consultative Assembly are of the greatest importance. In that session the assembly will elect a President and a Vice President, who will lead this nation into the 21st century. In addition, during the beginning decades of the 21st century we will be entering an era of liberalization and industrialization, so that meticulous preparations are dictated.

Also, in the years pending the closing of the 20th century issues concerning democracy, human rights and the environment will acquire central importance. We, as a nation, will enter an era of take-off and our people will be much keener in their capability to think and use their reasoning powers. They will also be much more critical and much more capable of evaluating prevailing conditions.

That is why the 1997 general elections will be of the utmost importance. We hope that the rising political temperature will stay within the limits that allows the coming feast of democracy to be held properly and that nobody will get hurt because of the differing political aspirations.

-- Suara Pembaruan, Jakarta