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.