Towards political deregulation?

Towards political deregulation?

President Soeharto has instructed the Indonesian Institute of
Sciences (LIPI) to suggest a general election system that would
best suit Indonesia in the future. The head-of-state also asked
LIPI to ponder on how many Armed Forces (ABRI) representatives
should sit as members in the House of Representatives. The
President also paid attention to the question of ABRI's social-
political role because, the President said, questions have been
raised as to why the ABRI House members are appointed, and not
elected.

The President's instruction indicates that the government --
the head-of-state in particular -- does want the general
elections to proceed more smoothly, more democratically, more in
line with the existing aspirations and more in step with the
demands of the times.

With regard to the system of elections, experts agree that
both the proportional representation system and the first-past-
the-post system have their positive and negative sides.
Considering this, a number of parties have said that an
alternative system should be found which combines the positive
elements of both.

Apart from these problems, however, we hope LIPI will be able
to carry out the President's instruction with genuine
independence, without being burdened in its efforts by
aspirations from other parties. Does the President's instruction
signal a imminent deregulation in the political sphere?

-- Suara Pembaruan, Jakarta