Review of nation's politics called for

JAKARTA (JP): Political observer Rudini says the springing up of new organizations is a signal for the nation to re-examine its political system.

Antara quoted the retired army general and former home affairs minister as saying in a seminar on political organizations in Bandar Lampung on Saturday that the country's political life is stagnant.

"Many people say that our political life is stagnant or, at the very least, has lost its flexibility, and that it's rigid and conservative," he said.

"Our political system is sluggish when it comes to adjusting to international and national changes," he said. "Contrary to our more adjustable economic system, our political system won't budge from the status quo."

Rudini said the stagnation was caused by an imbalance between the political and economic systems, as well as between the political superstructure and infrastructure.

"The political infrastructure is weak and dependent, while the superstructure continues to grow strong and maintains its position as 'patron' of the nation's political life," he said.

"If this imbalance continues, then there won't be any process of political education to benefit our people," he said. "In addition, we'll find it difficult to find potential candidates for the succession of national leadership." he said.

"In such a situation, it's difficult for us to talk about the people's sovereignty," he said.

Another result of the weakened infrastructure is the frequent emergence of new organizations, all striving to be alternatives to the existing political formats, he said.

He named the Association of Intellectuals for Pancasila Development (PCPP), the influential Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), and the National Brotherhood Foundation (YKPK) as examples of the new organizations.

"They could be seen as a positive sign of the growing public participation in politics," he said.

However, he warned that efforts should be made to clarify the motivation behind the establishment of the organizations in order to avoid suspicion among social groups and disintegration of the nation's unity.

Rudini, who was speaking at the seminar along with Fajrul Falaakh of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, also analyzed the current competition among the existing political groups. Golkar, the minority United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) will be contesting the 1997 general election.

Rudini called on PPP and PDI to set aside their jealousy over Golkar's success and to competing in a fair and healthy manner in order to overtake the ruling group.

He pointed out that both PDI and PPP often complain of being discriminated against by the government.

"I say, compete against Golkar so that we can achieve a fair and healthy political situation," he said. "Go further than just feeling jealous."

He conceded that, sometimes, the dominant power often justifies the means for its ends. "This shows that there are things that have to be improved so that we can have a fair political life," he said.

In the past months, Golkar has been accused of premature electioneering, even intimidation and other violations, by its opponents and some observers. (swe)