RI needs to restore political system

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)