Study finds little has changed in politics

Study finds little has changed in politics

JAKARTA (JP): A study conducted by the Institute for Policy
and Community Development Studies (IPCOS) found no significant
political changes had occurred in the country despite the
democratic election in June 1999.

The study found the same sporadic connection between political
parties and the electorate today which was seen during the New
Order era.

The three-month project found small changes from the days of
the New Order, with significant changes primarily in
accommodating personnel moves among the political elite.

Current political conditions are only a different form of what
was found during the New Order regime, IPCOS executive director
Johan Menajang said on Tuesday as he announced the findings of
the study.

The research, which was conducted in nine provinces -- South
and North Sumatra, West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Irian Jaya
and all the provinces in Java except Yogyakarta, found no direct
political linkage between voters and political parties.

"Our political parties still very much depend on outside
powers rather than their own members," Johan remarked.

He said the findings of the study revealed that several
parties were funded by external sources which had no direct
affiliation with the party. He added that the primary source of
information for considering party policies also came from
nonparty members.

Johan lamented the fact that these conditions maintained the
dependency of political parties on outside groups while excising
the role of voters.

"(As a result), we can see many issues concerning the public,
such as the fuel subsidy and the increase in public
transportation fares, lack initiative from legislators," Johan
remarked.

The study was conducted through in-depth interviews with 314
respondents from various political parties, most of whom were
councillors with over five years of experience.

In the report, IPCOS suggested the adoption of a new system
for filtering the political leadership which is not dependent on
a single person and accommodates the people's sovereignty.

The study received a strong reaction from senior Golkar Party
member Burhan Magenda, who was invited to comment on the
research.

Burhan said the findings should not be viewed with any sense
of surprise or dismay as the country had undergone a reform, not
a revolution, and thus only small changes had occurred in the
short time since the democratic election.

He underlined the emergence of many young politicians free
from the "contamination" of the New Order. "We can see in many
political parties the emergence of young people, who are
professionals, as the new leaders."

He claimed another change was taking place within his own
party. "Many of our cadres are becoming increasingly bolder in
expressing views which contradict the party's views, as seen
during the election of the vice president."

According to Burhan, during the General Assembly of the
People's Consultative Assembly last October, his party initially
wanted to throw its support behind Hamzah Haz for vice president.
However, many party members chose instead to support Megawati
Soekarnoputri.

"It is also normal if the changes seem very small because many
of us were raised and grew up during the 32 years of the New
Order era, so maybe some of us do not know any other way in
politics," he said.

Burhan remains confident democratization will work in
Indonesia, as it has become a necessity for the country to
survive. (dja)