'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)