True colors of reform Indonesia

True colors of reform Indonesia

As officially announced to achieve a total reformed Indonesia,
three important milestones have been scheduled by the government
and seemingly agreed upon by the whole nation: the Special
Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in November,
the general election in May 1999 and the MPR Special Session in
December 1999.

To ensure a fair general election in May, all eligible parties
should have administratively and politically equal status. Using
a color metaphor to represent this equality, all contestants
should be the same color intensity, say, of a similar "gray".
Since there are only about six months from the MPR session to the
general election, it is questionable if the time is sufficient to
ensure the equality between the presently established and
governmentally-acknowledged parties -- of, for argument's sake, a
"dark black" color -- and so many newly announced parties ("pure
white").

This is due to the unpredictable situation in which the
"black" will keep steadily, surely moving and protecting itself
from "graying". Meanwhile, the "white" will unsteadily try to
keep from being "blackened" in the quest to achieve the
appropriate "gray" color.

Concerning constitutional issues, the November MPR session
will be the best and proper occasion for the MPR to work for a
totally reformed Indonesia which is ready to enter a new
millennium.

ATTILA RAHAYOE

Bekasi, West Java