Soeharto's 'forces' won't come back: Nurcholish

SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): Political observers remain unconvinced that forces loyal to former president Soeharto could make a comeback and stifle the wave of reform sweeping the country, despite still wielding strong influence in important circles.

Moslem scholar Nurcholish Madjid maintained that Soeharto's "force" was not based on state ideology but merely on the distribution of material benefits and power.

"He's different from his predecessor, Sukarno, whose political force was so powerful because it was based on ideology," he said during a discussion at Diponegoro University on the political outlook in the post-Soeharto era.

He said Soeharto during his 32 years in power had established an undemocratic system which was paternalistic and feudal, combining elements of Javanese philosophy and militarism.

Talk has been rife this past week about the possibility that Soeharto, who resigned from his presidency on May 21 under strong public pressure, was maneuvering to stage a comeback.

The Armed Forces (ABRI) maintains that it would not tolerate a comeback of "old political forces" into the political arena.

But despite not having made a single public appearance since he stepped down last month, some remain worried.

Diponegoro university political scientist Soehardjo pointed out that it would not be the figure of Soeharto himself who could be setting the stage for a comeback, but his cadres who have long been trained to maintain the status quo.

"Up to now Soeharto is still Golkar's patron, and Tutut and Bambang are also still members," he said referring to Siti Hardijanti Rukmana and Bambang Trihatmodjo, two of Soeharto's children.

"They still have lots of money so it would be quite easy for them to do something," he added.

Fellow Diponegoro University colleague, Yusmilarso, shared the same view, saying that Soeharto still had the means to arrange a strategy for his return.

"He certainly does not want to easily fall from grace. We can see that his supporters and his cadres are still in strategic institutions.

"They have not even resigned from their active roles in the People's Consultative Assembly and Golkar," he said.

In Jakarta, political observer Daniel Dhakidae also warned of Golkar's role, describing it as the root of all political troubles during the Soeharto era.

He said that the party was behind much of the political engineering which was only aimed at perpetuating the rule of Soeharto.

But political scientist Mochtar Pabottingi said he was convinced that the era of the old political forces had really ended.

"It will be foolish if they try to stage a comeback as they have been proven to have such a rotten system," Mochtar, who heads the National Institute of Sciences' Center for Political Studies, told a discussion at University of Indonesia in Depok. (har/ivy/byg)