Social, political changes have to be managed

Social, political changes have to be managed

JAKARTA (JP): The social and political rigidity which results
from a long-term stable administration needs to be diffused, but
the resulting changes have to be managed properly to prevent
chaos, guests on a TV chat show concluded yesterday.

The panel discussion was held by the private television
station SCTV to celebrate the first anniversary of the Perspektif
program. The discussion was led by the show's host, Wimar
Witoelar.

Former finance minister Frans Seda, now a noted businessman;
cinematographer and editor, Eros Djarot; and journalist Bambang
Harimurti explored the prospects for political development in
Indonesia in the discussion. They were in fundamental agreement
about the need for change; for the correction of flaws in the
existing system.

"This (current) government is really extraordinary ... because
in the last fifty years (since national independence in 1945)
this country has only had two presidents," Seda said. "But
there's a down side to this condition, which is a resistance to
change."

"We have to advance, we have to courageously make and manage
changes," he said, adding that a great task that lay ahead was
how to manage those changes so that negative effects could be
limited.

Eros and Bambang said various changes were needed in society.
Seda's response was that the public and everyone else needed a
perspective with which to see the kind of changes necessary.

"The perspective is that the changes should give the
people...the freedom to assemble and express ideas ...these are
among their human rights," he said. In addition, all parties must
strive to establish a society which respects democracy and the
law."

Bambang said that Indonesia had a long way to go in its
political development because of a chronic problem of
"misrepresentation" in society.

This situation, which he said was the legacy of the colonial
administration, was one in which minority groups colluded with
the power holder to form a social elite, robbing the minority of
their rightful representation, he said.

"We need to normalize this condition, because it represents a
time bomb," Bambang said, citing armed conflicts and bloodbaths
in a number of countries which, he said, were the result of
misrepresentation in power.

Bambang believed that Indonesia, too, was already facing
"signs" of a potential explosion of the time bomb. He believed
that the key to averting that happening was to exercise self-
restraint.

"The members of the majority who want to gain (their rightful
place in the power representation) should not be in too great a
hurry," he said.

Eros stressed the need for greater political participation for
the public, accompanied by greater efforts to establish a more
mature "political culture".

"We need enlightenment, and this is the responsibility of our
intellectuals," he said. "We can't leave the process to experts
only, or the leaders of the three political groups."

Yesterday's event also featured prominent economists
Christianto Wibisono, Prabowo and Hartojo Wignjowijoto, and
social experts Julia Suryakusuma and Riga Adiwoso.

Christianto said that, from an economic point of view, there
was no need to overhaul the system. Instead, "we need better
control of the allocation of resources to facilitate growth," he
said.

He said "misallocation" of the available resources was the
main cause of the various economic problems here. (swe)