Security minister warns of reformative excesses

Security minister warns of reformative excesses

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite some progress, the top security minister warned on
Tuesday against the reform movement's excesses, saying the poor
management of reform could lead to separatism, social disorder
and political instability.

"We have been undergoing major social changes and political
reconstruction in the reform movement over the last five years.
We have been largely walking along the right path, but there have
been negative excesses that could stifle the process,"
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono said in a discussion on national reform.

The political discussion held at Gedung Joang 45 in Central
Jakarta, was held to commemorate Independence Day and was
attended by veterans, politicians, students and journalists.

According to Susilo, there are three main reformative excesses
the nation has made: democratic absolutism and human rights, poor
decentralization and poor understanding on national security and
the defense system.

In regards democratic absolutism and human rights, Susilo
supported the reform movement that had given the nation
opportunities to correct the path former president Soeharto took
in leading the country with an iron fist.

"Throughout the reform era, democracy and freedom of
expression have been upheld, the rights of humankind are assured.
But, we have noticed that the freedom of expression has sometimes
gone beyond reform at the expense of social order and national
stability," he said.

Susilo said decentralization under the Regional Autonomy Law
had given regions to take greater responsibility of their home
affairs, but its implementation had indirectly created a wide gap
between regions and between those people living on Java and
elsewhere.

In addition, he said, decentralization had also raised
exclusivism and sectarianism among regions. Certain resource-rich
regions that were mistreated during Soeharto's New Order era had
put their own interests above the nation's, thus jeopardizing
national unity and nationalism.

Worse, several groups in Aceh and Papua had gone too far, as
they had taken up arms to fight for independence from the
republic, he said.

"The unitary state of Indonesia, established in 1945, must not
fall apart because of such negative excesses of
decentralization," he warned.

He also regretted that many people had misperceived the roles
of the Indonesian Military in national defense and of the
National Police in domestic security.

Susilo stressed that under the 1945 Constitution, the military
and the police had the same duty to maintain national security
and defense. "However, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
has tasked the military with only handling foreign threats, while
security at home has been restricted to the police," said Susilo.

He said this division of roles was wrong, and that both the
military and the police should be given the same responsibility
to maintain national unity.

He was referring to the inclusion of the police in the
military, as Soeharto did. The two security forces have become
separate entities, as is the case in other democratic countries,
as a result of the reform movement.

To avoid reformative excesses, Susilo, who is eyeing the
presidency in the 2004 elections, said all parties should
establish a common understanding of the national reform agenda in
order to create a just and civil society.

"The reform movement is our common responsibility. If there is
something wrong with the reform process, then we should correct
it together," said Susilo.

Political analyst J. Kristiadi shared Susilo's views that
there were some flaws in the reform process that needed
correction to put the nation on the right path.

For example, he said, regional heads such as governors and
regents should be directly elected by the people to maintain
consistency throughout the political system.

He also criticized the authority of political parties to
recall House of Representatives legislators and regional
legislators because they had failed to represent their respective
parties, and instead represented the aspirations of the people.