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)