The year of reform

The year of reform

Ismail Hasan Metareum could not have put the arguments for
thorough political reform better than anyone else. His position
as chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), the larger of
the two minority parties, makes him an ideal candidate to carry
the reform torch. But his arguments were no less forceful or
eloquent than those already presented by equally reform-minded
people.

Ismail chose PPP's 25th anniversary reception in Jakarta to
articulate why he thinks 1998 should be Indonesia's year of
reform. So eloquent were his arguments that we simply feel
obliged to repeat excerpts here:

"The calamities of 1997 were not predetermined fates. They
were products of policies devoid of a reformative spirit and of
the people's aspirations and of transparency... This year will
be equally difficult, unless reforms are carried out to uphold
democracy in the political, economic, legal and social sectors.

"Old practices of solving problems piecemeal without looking
at their roots cannot be sustained. They have failed, and like
chronic diseases, we're stuck with them again and again.

"We have to have the courage to correct policies that are
counterproductive to the dynamic development of society, policies
that do not reflect public aspirations, do not accommodate their
demands and that are not transparent.

"Without reforms, problems will recur, each time getting
worse... political reform can no longer wait."

These were the words of a man who only a few years ago was
called "Mr Cool" for his reluctance to antagonize the government.
But Ismail has undergone a transformation, whereby his pragmatism
has given way to principles and to his supporters' demands inside
and outside of his party. His transformation was most apparent
when he turned PPP into a party for reform in the election
campaign last year.

Ismail by no means is the only public figure campaigning for
reform. The chorus for reform has grown louder, with many now
underscoring the rigid political system as the source of the
current economic crisis. With the crisis becoming even more
acute, reform proponents say the problem is no longer with the
economy, but with people's confidence -- not only in the economy,
but in the government's ability to come up with viable solutions.
Reforms, in short, are nonnegotiable.

It is one thing to demand reform, and completely another to
translate ideas into actions in the context of Indonesian
politics where the powerful Golkar and the Armed Forces call
almost all the shots.

Nevertheless, this is a perfect time to push for reform since
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is currently drafting
the State Policy Guidelines for the next five years, and various
decrees to be endorsed at their meeting in March along with the
election of the president and vice president.

But as the MPR working committees are finalizing their drafts,
we have not heard a single word about reforms. The PPP can be
forgiven if it is rarely heard during the deliberation of the
drafts. It is a small minority in the 1,000-strong Assembly
filled with people more concerned about preserving the political
status quo than with change. No matter how loud the PPP
representatives scream for reform, their voice will be drowned
out in the Assembly.

While the big factions in the MPR could ignore PPP, they would
commit a tragic mistake to ignore the aspirations and demands of
people in the street. The way it stands now, reforms could happen
in one of two ways: by orderly and peaceful means through the
MPR, or outside the MPR, which could possibly be chaotic and, God
forbid, violent. Those who call the shots must now decide which
it is to be.