Time running out for electoral reforms

Time running out for electoral reforms

By Arbi Sanit

JAKARTA (JP): The recent efforts by a House of
Representative's faction to reform the electoral law have
seemingly stalled. The powerful Armed Forces faction in the House
said it had no objection to changing the law but added that time
was running short prior to the poll.

The next general election will be held next year.

The Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP) has sought
House support for electoral reform since January. The proposal
won immediate support from the tiny Indonesian Democratic Party's
faction but was rejected by the ruling Golkar faction. The House
has 500 members.

The fact that the Armed Forces faction's response was wrapped
in very diplomatic language was interesting.

A political stance is always based on an argument and the
people as holder of political sovereignty have the right to know
the reason behind the objection.

Judging from past experiences, the House indeed is capable of
making laws in relatively short time. This alone weakens
considerably the argument of the Armed Forces faction.

The House took between seven and 37 weeks to make laws during
the 1987-1992 period. The 1988/1989 draft budget bill, for
example, was completed in only one month and 21 days. The law
longest in the making was the national education bill. It took
the House nine months and six days to complete.

Even supposing discussions on electoral law reform will be
tough, it is not likely to take more than nine months to come up
with a new law. And there would be another six months left before
the elections.

Hence, the ABRI faction's argument appears to be a counter
political maneuver to PPP's. Saying it did not object to
reforming the law may have been a face-saving move. In effect, it
is robbing PPP of supporters' sympathy earned because it has
listened to the people's aspiration, as reflected in its
proposal.

The question remains as to why ABRI has been so diplomatic.
Why did it abandon its usual straightforwardness in responding to
political issues?

Let's review the political change ABRI has undergone in recent
years. From the beginning of the New Order, ABRI has been a major
political force. It was not until the mid 1980s that estrangement
began between ABRI and the government.

By the 1990s this had turned into open rivalry for influence
and power. Rival groups established special access to decision
makers. ABRI needed to secure its access to the center of power.
In this context, ABRI established a common political stance with
Golkar while striving to build and preserve its image as a
sociopolitical force in society.

However, this approach can no longer work. The people nowadays
have come of age as the result of the successful development
initiated by the Armed Forces and other groups. The mature
society demands a political system that incorporates public
opinion in processing political development. In this condition,
only rational and factual political arguments can survive.

Only by realizing that the old political practice based on
force and regulation has faded away can ABRI renew its political
approach. It should learn to exploit the potential of rational
political arguments based on facts to shape public opinion. The
old political practice which characterized Indonesian politics
for 30 years has come to an end.

The writer is a lecturer of political science at the
University of Indonesia.