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)