'Voters should not only be heard at election time'

'Voters should not only be heard at election time'

JAKARTA (JP): A political observer called on the government to
respect people's sovereignty by involving them in political
decision-making when the general elections are over.

J. Kristiadi of the Center for Strategic and International
Studies said in a discussion on elections Saturday that people
should be able to fully participate in the decision-making
processes that affect their daily lives.

"People are not only sovereign when they enter the polling
booths and vote," Kristiadi was quoted by Antara as saying.

"Political participation is crucial to ensuring that the New
Order's political format continues to function," he said.

The discussion was held by the National Committee of
Indonesian Youths. It also featured John Pieres, a staff lecturer
at the University of Indonesia Law School.

Kristiadi acknowledged it would take great effort, especially
on the part of the political elite, to establish a democratic
political life.

"The process would be easier, however, if the nation's leaders
gave examples of healthy political ethics in their daily lives,"
Kristiadi said.

Pieres expressed his hope that the May 29 general elections
would produce quality representatives with the courage to
supervise and correct the executive branch of power.

"The public is now demanding leaders with high moral,
spiritual, professional, managerial and intellectual standards,"
Pieres was quoted by Antara as saying.

The public has become increasingly critical of the corruption,
collusion, nepotism, and monopolies condoned by the bureaucracy.
Improved skills and abilities on the part of leaders could reduce
or even eliminate public criticism of them, he said.

Quality representatives will only come from a fair and
confidential general election.

Another political observer was pessimistic that the general
elections would yield ideal results, calling the election a means
for the government to legitimize the status quo.

Muhammad A.S. Hikam of the National Institute for Sciences
told a discussion Friday that elections here do not function "as
an instrument for people to change the government as they would
in more democratic countries."

Hikam said elections could serve either as an instrument for
the public to control the administration, or vice-versa.

Existing laws and regulations ensure that the general
elections function more as a means to maintain the status quo, he
charged.

The fact that the government recently announced its plan to
invite foreign observers to monitor the election was only to
appease public concern, he said.

He described the invitation as an inconsequential compromise.

He called for a mechanism that would return the election
process to its original function of enabling people to control
the government.

President Soeharto has dismissed as untrue the view that the
coming election was a mere formality to legitimize his
administration.

"The election is not a ploy by government to maintain the
status quo. It's a forum for the people to exercise their basic
political rights," he said on Friday.

He said general elections had occurred regularly throughout
his 30-year tenure, and that more than 100 million citizens would
go to polling booths on May 29.

The May election, his sixth as President, would be of historic
importance because the elected representatives would serve into
the next century, he said. (swe/aan)