The Assembly's agenda
The Assembly's agenda
The suggestion made last Monday by Indonesian Military (TNI)
deputy chief Adm. Widodo that the upcoming General Session of the
People's Consultative Assembly, which will elect the country's
next president, be postponed, makes one wonder what is going on
in the back of the admiral's mind. This is all the more true
since the repeatedly denied rumors that TNI Commander Gen.
Wiranto is planning to retire early next month so he can run for
the presidency have refused to die. While the two may in fact be
in no way connected, when it comes to the military, speculation
is always tempting.
Whatever the case may be, given the never-ending economic and
political crises that continue to stranglehold the nation, it
would seem fairly obvious that the most expedient course of
action would be to move forward the General Session, now
scheduled for November. That would allow for the speedy formation
of a new government -- something which major international aid
organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, the
World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, appear to be waiting
for before resuming aid to Indonesia.
The TNI's deputy commander offered an argument to justify his
suggestion. Widodo said the current situation was not conducive
for holding the General Session. To be fair, it is sensible to
expect that some serious obstacles could prevent such a
politically loaded event from proceeding with any semblance of
smoothness.
The endless bickering among the country's newly emerged
political elite is, as Adm. Widodo pointed out, a portentous
indication that this nation may indeed not be ready to play by
the rules of democracy. Also, the widespread public
dissatisfaction over the way the government is handling the Bank
Bali scandal, the violence in East Timor and the religious and
secessionist flare-ups in several regions, provides for a highly
combustible political mix that can give rise to protests, as well
as diminishing the government's and the military's capability to
effectively cope with such emergencies.
Yet, paradoxically, it is precisely this crisis situation that
makes it essential to form as quickly as possible an effective
administration capable of leading this nation out of its complex
labyrinth of problems. Under the 1945 Constitution, this means
holding a General Session of the Assembly at the earliest
possible time. If, for practical and technical reasons, moving
the General Session forward is not possible, every effort must be
made to ensure that at the least, it will not be delayed.
For the most part, this means that political party and
government representatives on the General Elections Commission
must leave behind their petty bickering and begin to think
earnestly about helping the nation pull itself out of its present
plight. The longer the current transitional government of
President Habibie remains in power, the greater this nation's
problems are likely to grow.