Uphold democracy

Uphold democracy

From Rakyat Merdeka

The Sukarno-Hatta duo saved the Republic of Indonesia from an external threat (a Dutch comeback) and an internal threat (communist rebellion in Madiun). The duo trusted and respected each other. They would not take any measures before reaching an agreement. This was before independence and so before the Constitution was written.

Bung Karno had once told Sanusi Hardjadinata that democracy would only be upheld 60 years after the proclamation of independence. Bung Karno was not a psychic, but in his defense before a judge in 1930, he predicted the outbreak of the Pacific war, and ten years later, the Pacific war actually broke out. So maybe we can expect democracy to begin in 2005

Indonesia has yet to implement a democratic system as reflected in the membership of the House of Representatives (DPR). A minister of internal affairs in the former New Order regime had said that the DPR did not represent the people as the House members were appointed by their political parties and not directly elected by the people.

Therefore, to uphold democracy, the next general election in 2004 should be based on the district system where the people can directly elect their representatives in the DPR. However, for efficiency sake, the president and vice president do not necessarily have to be directly elected by the people.

LEE SOON CHIANG

Jakarta