Remembering demands for reform, democracy

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?