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