Reform loses its direction

Reform loses its direction

Four years has elapsed since the reform movement kicked off in this country. Former president Soeharto's resignation from office on May 21, 1998, marked the end of the New Order regime and ushered in the reform era.

The birth of the reform era was underlined by the nation's strong commitment to create a better future in all aspects of life. A number of basic reform agendas were then voiced that involved reforming the political, legal and economic spheres.

Nevertheless, now that four years have passed, the result of the reform movement has been inadequate. Political reform, for example, has not only brought about freedom of expression and press freedom, but also political instability.

Among the elite, efforts to change state leadership have apparently become a fixed agenda.

In the meantime, many conflicts involving people of different ethnic groups and religious backgrounds have broken out in Aceh, Ambon, Irian Jaya, and violent political clashes have flared up in many other regions.

The main agenda of legal reform; to eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) and to uphold the supremacy of the law, has been unsatisfactory in its achievements.

Economic reform, meanwhile, is the same.

Levels of social welfare have dropped drastically, while the number of school dropouts has risen sharply owing to the protracted crisis.

The description referred to above shows that reform is yet to produce the desired results as originally expected.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta