Recollections from the 1999 MPR General Session

By Mochtar Buchori

JAKARTA (JP): After the 1999 General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is over, and a new President and Vice President elected, how do I feel about the whole event?

On the whole I feel relieved. I feel very relieved that after all the squabbles and rhetoric, the Assembly has seemingly realized that prolonged animosity among the political alliances would ultimately bring chaos and disaster to the country. This feeling notwithstanding, I still cannot overcome my feelings of disgust toward a number of politicians within the Assembly.

In addition, I also feel worried about the future. Why? Because I feel that most of the politicians in there have not yet understood that preventing the disintegration of the country is much more fundamental than promoting the position of one's political party or alliance. This is evident from the fact that the most significant political compromise was made at the eleventh hour, after it became crystal clear that it would be impossible to control Megawati Soekarnoputri's angry and disappointed followers, and prevent them from inflicting more physical and psychological damage to the country.

To me this means that our political elite is still locked in the habit of thinking in a negative mode about the country and society. Why not ask: "what compromises must be made in order to end the economic crisis in the shortest possible time?" Instead they asked: "what must be done to end this carnage?" I do not think that this habit of reasoning will enable us to make great leaps in our attempts toward economic recovery and normalization in our lives.

Thus to be more accurate, I would say that I feel relieved but concerned at the same time.

What were the specific events that caused this mixed feeling?

My optimism for the future was prompted by two events. One was the speech delivered as an "interruption" by a woman from East Timor who identified herself as a member of the Golkar faction. And the other was Megawati's speech delivered after she was officially sworn in as the new Vice President of the country. Please note that the entire Assembly received both these speeches with lengthy ovations.

The East Timorese woman's speech was literally a cry of despair. It was made after the Assembly adopted the resolution to revoke the 1978 MPR resolution concerning the "integration" of East Timor into Indonesia, and the declaration of the territory as the country's 27th province. In a highly emotional speech, in which she nevertheless attempted to control her emotions and hold back her tears, the woman explained why the resolution made her and other like-minded East Timorese feel abandoned and like garbage, disposable. She told the Assembly how in 1978 the East Timorese people rejoiced to be able to rejoin their alienated Indonesian brothers and sisters. The struggle they carried out since 1975 to become a free people claimed many lives, including her husband. And during the 23 years under Indonesian rule, life was not easy. To be abandoned after all the efforts they had made to become good Indonesian citizens was extremely painful. "Is this because we are poor and underdeveloped, because we are not endowed with rich natural resources?" she asked the Assembly.

I had listened to many arguments before about how East Timor should remain part of Indonesia, but none rang so true or moved me so much. No other argument was as passionate yet lacked any animosity. Bitter yes, but hatred no! It is very seldom in my life that I am moved emotionally and intellectually by an argument supporting a proposition I do not share. I realized at that moment that with this woman we have a member of the Assembly who is endowed with reason, passion and honesty. It is a rare gift. I wish her the best of luck in her further pursuit of fairness and justice.

The speech by Megawati was equally passionate. It was also generous. Everyone was startled when she referred in her speech to Habibie personally, addressing him as "My brother Bacharuddin Yusuf Habibie". She said that in many respects she disagreed politically with Habibie, but that no political dispute could wash away her fraternal feelings for Habibie. And Megawati went on to address her political foes one by one, referring to each one of them as a political friend or partner. She appealed to members of the Army and the Police to do their best to create not only security for the people, but also tranquility in our society.

The most moving part was when she directed her speech to her followers throughout the country. "To my children throughout the country," she said, "I appeal to you to return to your homes and resume your daily duties. Your parents, your wife and children, your brothers and sisters, are waiting for your return. ... Here, take a look at me, your mother! I am here!" This part of her speech was so moving, that I could not hold back my tears. I looked around me and discovered that people around me were all shedding tears.

Why then do I still feel pessimistic about the future?

Because these two speeches constitute only two small bright dots against a backdrop of dark gray with small streaks of white color here and there. The overall picture of the Assembly as I see it in my mind is a dark and gloomy one. In this portrait I do not see any trace of a force leading toward enlightenment. All the white streaks are swallowed by the dark gray mass. As I see it, it will take other explosions of bright dots to change the overall picture of the Assembly.

But the Assembly meets only once a year. We will have to wait until next year to see whether or not the Assembly changes its basic character. In the meantime, life must go on. Economic problems must be solved, the shattered sense of nationhood must be restored, and the people must enjoy security and must have a sense of belonging to become productive and contributive. Can a government born out of this Assembly fulfill all these and other tasks? Can a House of Representatives born out of the same Assembly ensure that the government will be performing its task as dictated by the real conditions in the field?

I do not know. The newly formed government has yet to show whether it has the capability to govern the country in its current wretched condition. And the new House also is yet to demonstrate that it identifies its tasks and obligations. It is this waiting while the outlook is bleak that makes me pessimistic.

But I believe that in our society at large, outside the Assembly and the House, there are still cultural and political forces that clearly understand the dangers that lie ahead. I think that even within the political parties there is enough potential, especially among the younger generation, for internal rejuvenation that eventually will lead toward national reawakening. Ultimately it is this rejuvenation of cultural and political life that will generate a new political culture. It is this new political culture that will breed a generation of political followers capable of exerting resentment against political decisions it considers unjust without resorting to violent actions.

I do not think that good governance can emerge from a political culture characterized primarily by "bulldozer democracy", where politicians refuse to understand what people really want. Good governance will emerge only from a political culture in which people's representatives are genuinely interested in the aspirations of the people; where they honestly translate their understandings into policies which can be implemented, and still give the people the opportunity to have a say in the way the country is being run.

The writer is a member of the House of Representatives from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).