Scholars lament RI's infant state of democracy

Scholars lament RI's infant state of democracy

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's inability to put the principles
of democracy into place may explain the public's disenchantment
with the political system here, said a political observer over
the weekend.

Soedjati Djiwandono said at a seminar on democracy last
Saturday that Indonesia has yet to practice the principles of
democracy set out in the 1945 Constitution.

"Indonesia has yet to maximize the functioning of its
political system to make democracy grow," he said in the seminar
held at Gadjah Mada University.

The one-day seminar co-sponsored by The Jakarta Post and the
university also featured well-known political observers Cornelis
LAY, Dien Syamsudin, Amir Santoso and Riswandha Imawan.

Soedjati, also a director at the Jakarta-based Center for
Strategic and International Studies, said that the government
needs to revitalize the system rather than change it.

"The system should be developed in line with public demands as
suggested in the Constitution itself," he argued.

Soedjati pointed out that many things remain unclear in the
country's "Pancasila democracy".

"Does democracy really work? And what exactly is meant by the
familial principles that are supposed to become the basis of all
decision-making processes?" he said.

In reality, he said, the government bureaucracy is too strong.
The House of Representatives is not being allowed to play its
checks-and-balances role and there is next to no government
accountability to the people.

"I can accept the Constitution's mandate that the executive
body should be stronger than the legislative body. But, as the
constitution states, the President's power should be limited," he
said.

In Yogyakarta, at a separate seminar on the development of
democracy organized by Catholic Sanata Dharma University, the
university's political scholar G. Moedjanto said that Indonesian
officials should show that they respect the principles of
democracy when they make state decisions.

Indonesian culture, he said, will allow for democracy to
flourish if government officials set a good example.

"Unfortunately, many of our state policies are against the
principles of democracy," he said. (har/pan)