PPP demands revision of laws on political parties
PPP demands revision of laws on political parties
JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP) proposed
yesterday that laws on political parties be revised to allow the
promotion of democracy.
The Moslem-oriented party argued that because national
stability has been achieved, the people should be given more room
to participate in the development of the nation.
"Amending the laws on political organizations is necessary to
allow the promotion of democracy," said Hamzah Haz, chairman of
the PPP faction in the House of Representatives.
PPP and the other minority Indonesian Democratic Party have
repeatedly called for political reforms but the ruling Golkar
party and the mighty Armed Forces have always thwarted their
attempts.
Hamzah pointed out that Indonesia should change its political
system to allow democratization as is now occurring many other
parts of the world.
The system, he argued, should be able to accommodate various
opinions.
He warned that if the system fails to accommodate differing
opinions, there will be the danger of instability.
"Moreover, an estimated 25 million youths, mostly educated,
will go to polling booths in the upcoming (1997) general
election," he said.
He said Indonesia's current political system was designed some
25 years ago and needs to be adjusted to present demands.
In a press conference attended by senior PPP faction leaders,
Hamzah said that the party would not say no if the government
finally changed the current "proportional" electoral system into
a "district system."
The district system, under which voters directly elect their
representatives in the House, is considered more democratic than
the proportional system, by which the representatives are
appointed by the political organizations participating in the
general election.
"In fact the present system is good enough but the
implementation has to be improved," Hamzah said.
The government is considering changing the electoral system
amid criticism that the current system is not democratic because
House members are loyal to their political organizations rather
than to the people they are supposed to represent.
President Soeharto has assigned the Indonesian Institute of
Sciences to do research on alternative systems.
PPP also proposed that the internal rules of the House be
revised to allow a more democratic decision-making process.
Under the rule regarding the deliberation of bills on the
state budget, for example, the House is only given one week. The
House needs at least two weeks for proper discussion, Hamzah
said.
"How can the House complete deliberation in such a short
period?" he said.
Psychic
Addressing the alleged blasphemy by well-known paranormal
Permadi, Hamzah said that the PPP executive board and influential
Moslem leaders have agreed to sue the soothsayer on charges of
insulting Islam.
PPP is worried that people will take the law into their hands
unless legal action is taken against Permadi, who allegedly
described Prophet Muhammad as a dictator in a seminar last year.
He criticized the secret service for the late disclosure of
Permadi's blasphemous remarks and also the psychic's comments
considered slanderous by the government.
"The secret service needs to be more proactive so that similar
cases will not reoccur in the future," Hamzah said.
Permadi is currently under police custody. Numerous government
officials and Moslem leaders have demanded that he be tried for
slandering the government and insulting Islam. (yud)