Remembering demands for reform, democracy

T. Sima Gunawan, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, sima@thejakartapost.com

Democracy has been a word much on people's lips since the downfall of president Soeharto five years ago.

During bloody street rallies against the ironfisted rule of Soeharto, who was in power for more than 30 years, people cried for reformasi. They demanded reform in all sectors and insisted that democracy must be implemented. No more dictatorship and authoritarianism.

Soeharto's resignation cheered the people. They felt relieved by the thought that, finally, "people power" had won and the door to democracy had opened.

Democracy, according to the dictionary, is "government by the people; rule of the majority; a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation".

Five years have passed since Soeharto resigned and the people's voice still remains unheard. The government does not seem to understand what the people want and the House of Representatives has failed to honor the aspirations of the people.

We still see people hold demonstrations to air their various demands, from a thorough investigation of the Trisakti shootings and the May riots to the halt of military operations in Aceh. The people take to the streets to attract the attention of the politicians.

In the capital of Jakarta, there are increasingly strident calls from activists urging Governor Sutiyoso to listen to the people and to take into account their opinion in drafting policies that will have a drastic impact on the public. This, however, has yet to happen.

People were surprised and confused when the city administration announced last year a new busway system to be implemented in October 2002. Under the system, some 60 buses would ply the 12-kilometer route between Blok M and Kota, using lanes from the existing roadways that would be set aside specially for the buses.

The poorly planned project has already been delayed several times and its budget increased from Rp 50.8 billion to Rp 90.25 billion. Just last week the governor said the busway system would be implemented later this year.

Last month the Jakarta administration took people by surprise once again when it announced the implementation of a new on- street parking system. The new system is expected to reduce leakage in parking revenue, though that is likely mere wishful thinking because most observers would say it is not the system but the management of the parking authority that causes the leakage.

However, instead of improving the management, the city parking authorities asked a private company to handle parking matters. This new system would provide parking attendants with PDAs costing several times the market price. If everything goes ahead as planned, the system will start on May 26.

Another example of the city administration's lack of concern for public opinion was its decision to reclaim 2,700 hectares of land along northern Jakarta. Many parties, including the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, oppose the idea for fear of the social and environmental damage it could wreak.

The governor promised to hold a public debate of the issue, saying the fate of the project would depend on the results of the debate. But there was no such public debate. What the administration held was a discussion featuring speakers from the city administration and the Office of the State Minister for the Environment. Outspoken critics were not invited and there was little publicity given to the event, which took place last month. As expected, most discussion participants supported the project.

What about the people's representatives in the City Council?

Like many of their counterparts in the House of Representatives, most of the councillors merely act as rubber stamps for the government's decisions. Most city councillors, whose activities and salaries are financed by the city administration, support any policy decision made by the administration. They are the same councillors, after all, who reelected Governor Sutiyoso last year even though thousands of students and others staged rallies protesting his reelection.

Sutiyoso's reelection was tainted by allegations of bribery and vote buying. But these are only allegations. And like past allegations involving councillors and high-ranking city officials, there has been no police investigation to find out the truth.

Corruption and democracy are somehow related. There is usually a lack of democracy in those countries where corruption is rife.

Corrupt officials obviously do not have a conscience. And if they are not able to listen to their own hearts, how can they listen to the people?