RI needs to restore political system

Calls for political reform have come out loud and clear as the country sinks deeper into economic crisis. Social scientist Arbi Sanit, of the University of Indonesia, shares his view on this issue.

Question: The government has introduced various economic measures to overcome the economic crisis but the value of the rupiah continues to fall. What do we have to do?

Arbi: We need to restore confidence through the democratization of our political and economic systems. We need to introduce political reform measures with both short-term and long-term orientations.

The short-term reform measures should include the succession of the country's leadership, good selection of cabinet members for the 1998-2003 term and the empowerment of the House of Representatives.

The long-term measures should include revisions to the country's general election system, the dual function of the Armed Forces, regulations on political parties, the 1945 Constitution and the interpretation of the Pancasila ideology.

Q: Do you mean that we need a new president?

A: Yes. We need a president who is in good health. Because we are facing a serious economic problem, the new president must have a good reputation and credibility, be well experienced in the government system, be widely supported by the people and capable of mending the country's political and economic systems. I think former vice president Sudharmono, who succeeded in distancing the dominant Golkar from the Armed Forces and bureaucracy and hence allowing it to be more independent, would be suitable for the presidential position.

Q: How do you see the composition of a new cabinet for political reform?

A: The cabinet for the 1998-2003 term must be simpler than the present cabinet and comprise skilled personnel who are honest, committed to reform, able to work in harmony.

Q: How can we empower the House?

A: Practically, we will not be able to hold a general election in a more democratic way before 2002 to elect new House members who really represent the people. But, for the short term, the House will be better able to control the government if it is allowed to exercise its rights, including the right to ensure the government is held accountable. For the longer term, the number of House members who are appointed by the government must be reduced to a maximum of 10 percent.

Q: How should the general election system be reformed?

A: Apart from being direct, free and secret, general elections must be conducted honestly and fairly because the results of general elections to date have been manipulated. General elections should also be organized on a district basis to guarantee that House members are really representative of the people.

Q: The Armed Forces' "dual function" in security and politics has been implemented since the 1960s. What is wrong with it?

A: The implementation of the dual function has "killed" the creativity of the people. The Armed Forces can continue upholding its dual function but its implementation must not affect civil interests.

The execution of this role, therefore, should not be viewed as the occupation of Armed Forces members in political positions but as a chance to develop ideas through lobbies.

Armed Forces members, for example, may become House members through general elections but the Armed Forces faction in the House must be abolished.

Q: What do you think about the revision of regulations on political parties?

A: The law on political parties, which restricts the access of political parties (other than the dominant political group Golkar) through the bureaucracy to operate in villages, needs revision to allow the parties to communicate with their members outside city centers.

Parties, under a revised law, need not base their ideologies merely on Pancasila because it has become the official state ideology. They can have different bases to encourage competition among themselves. Their method of making decisions should not be limited to consensus to make their decision-making process more democratic.

The proposed law should also require the bureaucracy and the Armed Forces to be neutral in political affairs.

Q: You said the 1945 Constitution also needs revision. Which part of it should be amended?

A: The constitution confuses the meaning of democracy and authoritarianism. Verse 2 in the first chapter, for example, says that the country's sovereignty is totally in the hands of the people but in implementing the sovereignty, the people are completely represented by the People's Consultative Assembly.

This verse, which has eliminated the power of the people, should be discarded along with other verses that reduce the people's power.

The constitution has a lot of chapters mentioning the role of the President but it only has a few chapters mentioning the roles of the House of Representatives, the People's Consultative Assembly and the Supreme Justice.

Q: Does the state ideology of Pancasila need revision too?

A: Not the Pancasila itself. What needs revision is its 45-point interpretation. The section saying that decisions should be made through consensus, for example, should be revised to make the decision-making process more open and democratic. (riz)