The MPR's dilemma

The MPR's dilemma

There are many among us who question the commitment of members
of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) (toward democratic
reform) and doubt the effectiveness of a Special Session of the
Assembly in ushering the nation into a new era. Their reasoning
is that the current MPR is a product of the now defunct New Order
regime, and that it is, therefore, most likely to try to set a
national agenda that would benefit only a certain group by
preserving the status quo.

Under present conditions, we fully realize that the MPR
members are faced with a dilemmatic choice: whether to protect
the interests of their own respective groups or listen to the
will of the people. Opting for the first choice would bring us to
a situation that none of us probably want: protracted conflict
and a political crisis that will not end any time soon. Such a
projection is not without ground. For instance, various newly
established political parties have threatened that they will not
recognize the results of the current MPR Special Session if they
don't conform to the prevailing spirit of reform.

However, we are sure those members will have the wisdom to
read the signs of the time and that they won't lightly disregard
the voice of the people. The point is that this is the only way
the present MPR members can hope to lay a firm foundation for the
nation and prevent the ongoing economic and political crisis from
becoming protracted.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta