TNI bill: Professionally or politically motivated?

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta

The ongoing deliberation of the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill at the House of Representatives (DPR) in the final days of the House members' terms in office has not only drawn widespread attention, but also strong criticism from related institutions and the public in general.

Both the decision to complete the deliberation before the House members' terms end and the content of the bill itself are equally controversial.

However, the decision to accelerate the deliberation of the bill cannot merely be blamed on the House itself. The outgoing House members likely want to leaving a positive legacy before ending their terms by completing the deliberation of such an important bill. But the government also played a part in pushing the House to finish it before their mandate ends.

The House has pledged to endorse the government-sponsored bill by the end of September. House members have said that they had to finish deliberating the bill this term to allow legislators from the military and the police to take part in the process as the appointed military/police faction will cease to exist in the House.

The Ministry of Defense had previously prepared a TNI bill and submitted it to the State Secretariat. Apparently not satisfied with the content, Cilangkap (TNI headquarters) went ahead and drafted its own bill.

The bill, which has aroused widespread opposition from the public, maintains the military's territorial role (active military posts in every village), which former strongman Soeharto used as a tool to maintain his power. It also allows serving military personnel to accept civilian posts -- as governors, regents and mayors -- without having to resign from the force, a common phenomenon during Soeharto's 32 years in power, known as dual function.

The bill contradicts a stipulation in a People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree issued in 2000 that requires military officers to retire before taking such positions.

Critics, including President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction at the House, have urged the lawmakers to delay the deliberation of the bill and allow the matter to be taken up by the next House, which will be sworn in on Oct. 1.

Yet, the move by Megawati and PDI-P was indeed controversial as it was announced as Megawati is in a fight to win reelection.

It is difficult not to believe that the move, expected to gain support of "reformist" voters, has no connection with the upcoming Sept. 20 presidential election runoff.

The question is then why has Megawati not raised the issue earlier in her presidency after succeeding Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid in July 2001.

According to the 1945 Constitution, the military is responsible for defense, while the police, which used to be part of the then Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI), are responsible for internal security.

But, the TNI headquarters insisted that such reforms should be done in a gradual manner, while arguing that it would take time for the TNI to change itself after over three decades of enjoying privileges -- mainly in politics and the economy.

Learning from Abdurrahman's ouster in 2001 as well as from her father's (the late president Sukarno) in the mid 1960s, which were due to disharmony with the Army, Megawati has since taken a careful and amiable approach toward the TNI. Such a lenient attitude could be seen from her immediate approval of the TNI's proposal to impose martial law in Aceh last year. It was later downgraded to civilian emergency status earlier this year.

So critical was the opposition against the military bill, that while Megawati was attempting to lure popular votes by issuing such bold and "unusual" decisions, her rival and former Cabinet minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has chosen to remain quiet on the issue.

There has been no explanation for his silence, but it is likely because Susilo, who is a retired Army general, is in a difficult position to face the TNI.

Apparently realizing the public's strong opposition, surprisingly, the TNI headquarters eventually stated that it was not necessary to rush the bill through the House because the soldiers' activities would not be hampered by the absence of the regulation.

Most of us are aware that the country has not fully recovered from the political and economic crises, which began in 1997, so the main concern should not necessarily be whether to complete the deliberation of the bill before the end of next month or to let the new House complete the task.

The deliberation of the TNI bill is not about a "losing" or "winning" game. It is about establishing a legal-political umbrella, as well as guidelines, for the TNI in its attempt to become a professional institution as our founding fathers and all other Indonesians have yearned for.

We need a strong, but professional TNI to protect Indonesia's vast and archipelagic territory from outside threats and help establish a secure state that is conducive for investment and restart the development programs to catch up with the seven-year lapse of development due to the crises.

We cannot let past mistakes happen again, specifically we cannot let the TNI be misguided and stray from the right track.

So, the legal product should not satisfy only the TNI, nor the NGOs only, nor the public only, but should win the support and approval of the majority of the people.

That is what democracy means, does it not?

The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post. He can be reached at iman@thejakartapost.com