Student protests may spur the race for reform

Debate over political and economic reforms keeps on rolling, with the government asserting it has been doing this for a long time. Political analyst J. Soedjati Djiwandono , one who does not ascribe to the above view, argues that political reform cannot wait.

JAKARTA (JP): As the supreme governing body of the country's political system, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is the most capable of implementing the necessary reforms. Yet it seems doubtful the State Policy Guidelines decreed by the MPR in its March General Session do embody the necessary steps toward political reform, a claim of the government.

To emphasize that reform must be constitutional -- as if implying that the students' demands are unconstitutional -- is redundant. By definition, reform is a change within and through the existing constitution. But it is not just any kind of change. The change ought to be toward improvement, and therefore forms part of democratization. Thus it is highly doubtful if reform has been implemented even since the proclamation of independence, another assertion of the government.

In principle, reform is still possible, despite the ossification of the current political system, if only there is the political will to do it. This means the MPR must first reform itself. The resulting given is that reform must start above all with the political parties, for most MPR members are representatives of these.

Political parties should be independent from governmental interference in their internal affairs, for government is basically their own creation on behalf of the people. This needs to be translated into a drastic change in their statutes and bylaws.

But judging by the performance of the MPR members in their recent General Session or, for that matter, practically all the Assemblies under the New Order, it seems doubtful if they are even interested in the issue.

But we must remember that human beings are not apples. Once an apple begins to rot, the process cannot be arrested. A human being, meanwhile, can repent anytime and improve or reform, learning from past mistakes, if only he or she has the will to do so.

The essence of democracy is people's participation in a balanced distribution of power in decision-making -- though indirectly in a modern democracy -- and thus the creation of a system of checks and balances as a complex mechanism of effective control. Our present political system is not working or functioning properly in that sense.

That is to say, power has tended to be increasingly concentrated in the hands of the executive. This means a decreasing participation of the people in decision making, and thus in exercising effective control over the use of power.

Political parties serve as vehicles for people's participation. A general election is an initial stage of that participation and an initial form of the control mechanism. This will develop into a system of checks and balances.

Separation and balanced distribution of power among state institutions is a form of participation and control by the people. A limitation on the terms of the President, for instance, is just one such form of control. And it is the effective mechanism of control that ensures good and clean government.

Unless the political parties, and thus the dominant members of the MPR, do not reform themselves, we would have to wait for the younger generation of Indonesians who will take their places. Hence, the significance of political education of young people to prepare them for the necessary reform in the future. By no means am I referring here to the indoctrination of the Pancasila orientation course (P4).

Herein lies an inherent vicious circle. We cannot rely on the current shoddy system of formal education; reform of the educational system would form part of political reform.

In this economic crisis, however, political reform is an urgent and absolute necessity. We are racing against time. Without reform, it is hard to imagine what may happen to the nation's social, political and economic life.

This is the significance of the student protests. They will hopefully help wake those "representatives of the people" from their lethargy, inertia and complacency so that they open their eyes to realize the enormity of the crisis, with all its possible dire consequences and implications for the people. They then may be able to overcome their reluctance and fear to initiate reform.

If the question still remains, the answer is in the affirmative: student protests may indeed help accelerate the efforts for reform.