Rudini welcomes national dialog plan
Rudini welcomes national dialog plan
JAKARTA (JP): Former President Soeharto's close aide, Rudini,
yesterday welcomed the proposal for a national dialog to discuss
solutions for the ongoing monetary crisis, but reminded the
nation that the President would not turn a blind eye on the
matter.
Rudini, former Minister of Home Affairs, said must have
anticipated the impact of the state currency rupiah depreciation.
"President Soeharto must have made all necessary preparations
to anticipate even the worst situation," he told reporters at his
office.
Speaking about the proposal for a national dialog, he said the
idea of letting people share their opinions on state affairs and
ideas in time of crisis was an urgent thing to do now.
"The national dialog should be held within a short period of
time as we will have an important event, the general meeting of
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) next March," he said.
He was responding to a proposal by secretary-general of the
Association of the Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) Adi
Sasono that the government invite all elements in society,
including influential public figures to altogether seek solutions
for the economic crisis.
"It's not a proper time to stamp outspoken public figures as
anti-government or extremists anymore," he said, "They have the
rights to share their opinions and ideas, too."
Meanwhile, deputy House Speaker Syarwan Hamid did not
explicitly support Adi Sasono's idea, but said the time has now
come for the nation to leave all disputes behind and demand a
dialog to look for solutions of the protracted monetary crisis.
"It's dangerous if a dialog is banned. Instead, the more we
encourage dialogs with various people, the more we gather ideas,"
Syarwan said.
He suggested the government to listen to as many people as
possible because it could not solve the country's problems alone.
"The truths are now scattered everywhere, thanks to the
growing number of intellectuals. The government must talk to as
many people as possible, particularly to discover the hidden
truths," he said.
He said the dialog would also help the government know more
about the public's expectations.
Rudini, now chairman of an informal military think tank, the
Institute for Strategic Studies of Indonesia, said what the
country now needed was concrete actions to settle the crisis.
"People are now concerned with the continuous price hike,
especially when the post fasting month Idul Fitri celebration is
approaching," he said, "They're less interested in politics now."
He suggested that government officials should give good
examples of their attitude and be serious in eradicating pungli
(illegal levies).
"Such good examples and serious eradication of illegal levies
will at least reduce the people's heated tension due to the price
hike of their basic needs," he said. (imn/amd)