President must initiate reforms, Siswono says

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)