Soeharto acknowledges administration has faults

Soeharto acknowledges administration has faults

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday admitted that his administration is not without faults or weaknesses, and stressed that he is willing to be corrected.

Soeharto held a nostalgic meeting in Taman Mini with former student activists whose street demonstrations in 1966 were pivotal in paving the way for his rise to power.

"We have to admit that there are quite a lot of shortcomings we have to fix, mistakes that we have to correct, and weaknesses that we have to deal with," he said. "We are human beings, who, being prone to error, are prepared to correct those mistakes."

Soeharto underlined the need for people to remind one another of their mistakes and shortcomings, for the sake of common progress. However he stressed the need for courtesy.

"Reminding one another in a courteous way is a tradition that we have to preserve. This way, those who are reminded would find relief that they are respected. It is this tradition that we have to preserve to bring our political life to maturity," he said.

Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the launching of Tritura, or the People's Three Demands, which became a rallying point for the massive student demonstrations during the chaotic period of 1966.

The demonstrations brought President Sukarno's administration to its knees two months later, and paved the way for the rise of a young Army general by the name of Soeharto.

Those 1966 "exponents" have formed a loose organization called Ikatan Keluarga Besar Laskar Ampera Arief Rachman Hakim, named after their fellow student who was shot dead during the 1966 demonstrations. Members of the organization were invited to Taman Mini for an audience with the President yesterday.

A discussion by these exponents on Tuesday found that the spirit and ideals embodied in the Tritura have not been fully realized. The discussion also turned into a session of self criticism given that many of these exponents were now in government, the House of Representatives and business leaders whom they said are in the position to push the Tritura cause forward.

"If we look back at the situation of the country when Tritura was launched, things are far different now. We have made extraordinary progress. Not many nations in this world could have changed their fate in such a relatively short time the way we did," Soeharto said.

"But we must not spend too much time looking back. We have to cast our glance ahead," he said. "We look back for the wisdom of past lessons and experiences. When we look to the future, we have to be vigilant."

Soeharto underlined that there was no easy, short cut, way to reach the national goal of a just and prosperous society.

Indonesia needs to improve the situation of those 25 million people who are still living below the poverty line, he said.

"This is a big undertaking that requires the mobilization of the government and the people. We cannot talk about justice and prosperity as long as these people are not lifted out of poverty." (emb)