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)