Syarwan says nation on brink of collapse

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives (DPR) Deputy Speaker Syarwan Hamid said yesterday the nation could collapse altogether if it failed to carry out political reform.

The Army lieutenant general said the economy had continued to go downhill even with the best economic policies and management team in place. "And if it continues going down, it will lead to our destruction," Syarwan said during a meeting with editors of the country's print and broadcast media.

There is now a wide consensus among government, legislators and the public that thorough reform, as demanded by students through their nationwide protests, would save the nation, he said.

The ball was in the DPR's court to conceptualize the reform, he continued, maintaining that the legislature held the key to the success or failure of any reform program. "This is a fiery ball indeed. But the House could turn it into a golden ball," he said.

Also taking part in the meeting were representatives of the four House factions: Hamzah Haz (United Development Party, PPP), Achmad Roestandi (Armed Forces, ABRI), Slamet Effendy Yusuf (Golkar) and Y.B. Wiyanjono (Indonesian Democratic Party, PDI).

Syarwan asked the country's media leaders to help convince the public, especially students, about the seriousness of the legislature in pushing for economic and political reforms.

In spite of promises to implement reform from President Soeharto, the military and the House, students have continued their protests calling for total and immediate reforms. Some protests have turned into clashes with security officers while protests in Medan deteriorated into full-scale riots.

Syarwan appealed for patience and urged students to stop their actions.

"Now that we have agreed to their demands, we want to be given the chance to carry them out. So how about switching your 'unjuk rasa' (show of feelings) to 'unjuk pikiran' (show of thoughts)?" he said.

'Unjuk rasa' is the politically correct term for demonstrations.

The House should not be rushed into coming up with proposals for reform, Syarwan said. "We cannot draw up concepts under pressure or simply propose change for the sake of change. These are concepts that will determine the future of the nation."

He cited the example of the proposal to switch from the currently used proportional representative election system, in which people vote for a party, to the district system in which people vote for their representatives.

"Just because proportional representation has failed us in the past doesn't mean that the district system will necessarily be better," he said, adding that drafting concepts required thorough study.

When asked about how far the House would be willing to push the reform, Syarwan said the limits were determined by Pancasila.

But when asked whether he agreed with students' demands for a change in the national leadership, he responded that this was not necessarily the aspiration of the entire nation, and that it was likely be the view of only a minority of people.

"You can't tell ABRI to launch a coup d'etat," he said. "If you touch that (the question of national leadership), you're talking about a major conflict."

"This goal of theirs is taking their demands too far. It's beyond our means."

Syarwan underlined the need for a gradual, peaceful and constitutional reform process.

He said the House had already taken the initiative to review a number of laws as part of the reform measures. He cited as examples the revision of the five political laws and the proposals for antimonopoly and consumer protection laws.

Once the new legislation is ready, it would be implemented immediately. "It doesn't have to wait until 2003," Syarwan said.

Slamet said Golkar, as the dominant faction in the House, embraced reform wholeheartedly.

"Golkar was born (in 1964) as a force for renewal. We may have been lulled by our dominant position for 30 years. Now Golkar has agreed to return to its original mission. It's back to basics," he said.

Hamzah said this crisis was a blessing in disguise as it had given a rare opportunity for the nation to redress the huge imbalance in power distribution between the government on the one hand and the House and the judiciary on the other.

"Power is now very much concentrated in the hands of the President. We're reforming this," Hamzah said.

All the factions agreed that the reforms should lead to a greater empowerment of the House in representing the people and as a force of check and balances against the power of the executive.

PPP and PDI disagree with Golkar and the Armed Forces faction on the question of whether or not to call for an emergency session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

"The Constitution allows for such an emergency session. We should not foreclose the possibility," Hamzah said, adding that it was up to the factions to decide.

Wiyandjono said his faction was currently studying whether or not to call for a special session. He called on the other factions to do likewise. (emb)