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