President must initiate reforms, Siswono says

JAKARTA (JP): A former aide of President Soeharto called for immediate total political reform with the President himself initiating the crucial first step.

Former cabinet minister Siswono Yudohusodo said in a discussion with Jakarta-based political correspondents that such total political reform was urgent for a country, like Indonesia, that was in a crisis.

"The crisis will be able to be settled only when the whole structure of the government is replaced by a new one," he said.

He cited the success stories of other countries which had been affected by similar economic crises.

"The whole central political elements in Thailand and Japan, including the prime ministers; and in South Korea, including its president, were replaced by new ones.

"Even the central figures of those countries were willing to step aside just to provide the opportunity for their countries to successfully settle their crises."

He said he was confident that immediate total political reform would shortly lift the nation out of the economic crisis.

Siswono, the minister of transmigration in the Sixth Development Cabinet whose term expired last March, said it would be an honor for Soeharto to initiate immediate total political reform, including presidential succession, here.

"Should President Soeharto be willing to initiate total political reform, it might open the opportunity for a peaceful presidential succession," he said.

He cited the initiatives taken by former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who stepped aside from the formal political scene and announced Goh Chok Tong as his successor in November 1990.

Siswono, however, insisted that any total political reform had to be undertaken in compliance with the 1945 Constitution.

"The only forum for constitutional total political reform is an extraordinary session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)."

He said that the nation should not tolerate any chaotic efforts to initiate reform as they would only propel a dictator into becoming the country's new leader.

Constitutionally, the initiative to hold an extraordinary MPR session could come either from the president or the House of Representatives.

Commenting on the Assembly members' poor response to calls for an extraordinary session, Siswono admitted that they had failed to comprehensively represent the aspirations of the people.

"How could we call the Assembly members true representatives of the people when their recruitment was dominated by nepotistic practices?" he asked.

"Meanwhile, influential figures like Amien Rais, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri were not included."

Siswono, a former student activist who helped President Soeharto establish the New Order government in 1966, said there should be continuous and greater waves of pressure on the Assembly to hold an extraordinary session.

Academics

An alliance of professors and lecturers from prominent state universities -- the University of Indonesia, the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, the Bandung Institute of Technology, Gadjah Mada University and Airlangga University -- issued a petition yesterday expressing support for the student movement's demands for immediate and total reform.

"The students' demands for reform have strong and objective grounds. All professors, lecturers and university students nationwide should therefore support them," read the petition signed by 16 professors from the five universities.

The signatories included the Gadjah Mada University rector Ichlasul Amal, former ITB rector Iskandar Alisjahbana, Gadjah Mada University sociologist Loekman Soetrisno, a surgeon from Airlangga University, Puruhito, and a professor from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Utomo D. (imn)