Reform leaders must unite: Emil

JAKARTA (JP): Economist Emil Salim, one of the leading figures of the reform movement, has called on public figures who support reform to put aside their differences and unite in pushing for political change.

Unity would give them greater bargaining power in any negotiations with the present government, Emil said in a discussion on national political reconciliation yesterday.

Emil said these public leaders were the ones with real political power by virtue of their influence over the people. Those who were currently in the government only had "pseudo" political power, he said.

"National political reconciliation will only be possible if real political power is united," he said.

Among those he cited as having real political power were Megawati Soekarnoputri, the ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party, Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, and Muhammadiyah chairman Amien Rais.

Emil was speaking at a discussion organized by Paramadinamulya University. None of the five public figures invited to speak turned up. They included Megawati, Armed Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Nurcholish Madjid, the university's rector.

Emil said the bickering between people with real political power would slow down the reform movement.

"How can they move forward toward national reconciliation with the government and the Armed Forces if they continue bickering among themselves?" he asked.

"It was the real political power which had the most influence in forcing Pak Harto to step down," he said.

Emil cited as an example of the bickering the current row between labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan and leaders of Moslem organizations.

Muchtar earned the wrath of Moslem leaders after he suggested, in interviews printed in the International Herald Tribune and Ummat magazine, that Moslem groups were behind the bloody riots in Jakarta.

Secretary-general of the Indonesian Council of Islamic Propagation Husein Umar and chairman of the United Development Party Ismail Hasan Metareum have since challenged Muchtar to substantiate his allegations with evidence.

Political observer Dipo Alam, another speaker in the discussion, said unity among reform leaders was an illusion.

"They will unite again when the threat of the return of Soeharto and his supporters become real," said Dipo, "Otherwise, they will continue to fight among themselves."

Emil, an economist by training who served in several of Soeharto's governments, said the current economic crisis could not be resolved unless the nation settled the political issues first.

He said a general election should be held immediately.

"Only a president and an administration elected through an open and fair general election will get the genuine support and confidence of the people," he said.

All recent reform gestures by the government as well as the efforts to secure the support of the International Monetary Fund, failed to arrest the decline in the rupiah's exchange rate, he noted. (imn)