Public accountability needed for democratization

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a campaign to safeguard democracy, the country is in dire need of developing a new system to ensure public accountability of politicians sitting at the House of Representatives, scholars said on Wednesday.

They agreed that the latest move by the House to foil an inquiry into corruption, allegedly involving House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, has damaged the public's high hopes for reform.

Azyumardi Azra of the Jakarta State Academy of Islamic Studies (IAIN Jakarta) and noted Catholic scholar Mudji Sutrisno made an accusation that the ongoing trial on the misuse of Rp 40 million (US$4.4 million) in nonbudgetary funds of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) was merely a cruel joke.

"It's clear that Akbar, as well as the other two codefendants, have lied to the public, with their inconsistent statements before the court. Not to set aside the principle of presumption of innocence, (Akbar's alleged involvement) has ruined people's faith in the House," Azyumardi told The Jakarta Post.

Many believe that there has been a deal between the Golkar Party, which Akbar chairs, and the largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), to drop the inquiry. This is in an attempt to let the administration, led by the latter, continue to 2004, regardless that it might cause later repercussions for the party, which would lose it public support.

Doubtful of any campaign to bring Akbar down over the corruption scandal, Azyumardi said he preferred to launch a campaign in which a direct election system, where candidates for House membership would be held accountable before the public and not to the political parties to which they belonged, was implemented for the 2004 general election.

Mudji Sutrisno, who is also a member of the General Elections Commission (KPU), said the House had become the major obstacle to democratization in the country, as no politician had any integrity anymore.

"In our monitoring report submitted to the Supreme Court, we did mention that money politics were widespread in the previous (1999) election, but the Court has failed to respond to it.

"If the Supreme Court and the House maintain their ignorance of democratization, the reform movement, which has been promoted by university students and young people in general, will end in stalemate," he told the Post.