Scrap TNI's free seats now, say observer
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Noted military observers urged civilian politicians on Monday to scrap the free seats accorded to the Indonesian military (TNI) and police in the legislature immediately regardless of the two organization's readiness to be entrusted with the franchise.
"There are no more reasons now for the military to have free seats in the legislature," military observer Hasnan Habib said.
Hasnan, a three-star Army general (retired), said that whether or not TNI or police were ready to use their voting rights in 2004, it was their internal problems that they had to deal with.
"The civilian politicians should not push and pull the military and police into low, high and practical politics," Hasnan said without elaborating.
"Like other citizens, soldiers and civil servants are entitled to the franchise," he stressed.
The issue of the TNI and police's voting rights surfaced earlier this month after the Ministry of Home Affairs submitted the new election bill allowing TNI and police personnel to exercise their rights to vote and be elected. If endorsed, the bill would put an end to the military and police's free seats in the legislature, where they currently have 38 seats.
The bill, however, contradicts MPR Decree No. VII/2000, which retains the presence of the TNI and police in the House of Representatives (DPR) until 2004 and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) until 2009.
TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said last week that military personnel would not use their voting rights in the next election, claiming that soldiers were not yet prepared to ensure political neutrality.
Kusnanto Anggoro, a military observer from the Centre for Stretegic and International Studies (CSIS), concurred with Hasnan, saying members of the national political elite should not extend the presence of the TNI and police in the House and MPR.
"The political parties should firmly reject the presence of the TNI and the police in the legislative bodies, even if they do not exercise their voting rights," he said.
J. Kristiadi, also from the CSIS, said it was "understandable" if the TNI would temporarily refrain from using its voting rights due to the nation's trauma over the military's powerful political role during the 32 years of former president Soeharto's dictatorial regime.
But after 2009, soldiers would have no more reason not to vote in elections as they would have to be professional in differentiating between their state duties and political rights, he added.
Kristiadi also dismissed claims that the military would become fragmented into political groupings if allowed to vote, saying "this is a misleading argument."
He claimed that past experience proved that the military remained solid in the 1955 election despite soldiers having the right to vote.
Hasnan and Kristiadi urged the TNI to reject any free seats that might be offered to them by the House or the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
"If the TNI really wants to be sincerely neutral and stay away from politics, it must be courageous enough to reject such an offer and instead focus on improving its professionalism," Hasnan said.
Kusnanto also called for a special ruling to prevent servicemen from siding with certain parties in elections.
Meanwhile, political observer Fachry Ali blasted the move to allow the military to vote and to be elected in the 2004 election.
"Only in the countries whose systems of democracy are already well-established is the granting of voting rights to the military appropriate," he said.
Fachry argued that soldiers were different from ordinary citizens whose political rights should be guaranteed. "They actually chose their political stance when they joined the military, namely impartiality," he said.
He argued that "political infiltration" by soldiers would be unavoidable should they be given the right to vote. "This would be dangerous for national stability," he said.