Scholar ask political parties to etablish their policies

Scholar ask political parties to etablish their policies

JAKARTA (JP): Political parties must establish their visions
and policies for the future instead of thinking about the past,
noted political scholar Muhammad AS Hikam said on Friday.

"Most parties are still... talking about history rather than
the future," he said when addressing a dialog on critics of
political parties. He emphasized the need for more concrete
programs to accommodate people's aspirations and needs.

Hikam said some parties had "lost face" when they appeared in
a program on the private Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia station on
political parties because they could not answer questions from
the audience on their vision and mission. The program is aired
Mondays on 9:30 p.m.

Luthfi Hakim of the Moon and Star Party said his party was
still working on its platform and internal organizational
matters. The National Mandate Party is among the few new parties
which has drawn up a party platform.

Hikam, a researcher at the National Institute of Sciences
(LIPI) acknowledged that the growing number of political parties
was one aspect of democratization. More than 80 parties have
registered themselves with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"Every party is talking about people without clearly defining
the meaning," he criticized.

The word "people", Hikam said, could refer to some groups
while neglecting others. He suggested a "civil society approach"
which provided citizens with equal rights and opportunities.

He further questioned the effectiveness of parties to
represent people's aspirations and needs because people had
tended to place more trust in non-governmental organizations.

He said non-governmental organizations had also played a role
in assisting public political education, citing the Jakarta-based
Institute for Research, Education, Economic and Social
Information (LP3ES) and Dian Desa, based in Yogyakarta.

Parties required to pursue democracy were those which
understood the needs of local communities while being able to
keep up with globalization.

Hadidjojo, the chairman of Partai Murba said the party was set
up because the existing three parties -- the United Development
Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party and Golkar -- had failed
to fulfill their functions, such as controlling government
policy. The main duty for Murba, he said, was to realize the
principal of trias politica, meaning a clear division of the
executive, the judiciary and the legislature. (01/25)