Wahono warns of hypocrisy

Wahono warns of hypocrisy

JAKARTA (JP): House Speaker Wahono warned the nation yesterday
against "a culture of hypocrisy" which he said was affecting much
of Indonesian society, including its elite.

"We have seen lately the signs of the culture of hypocrisy
which is sweeping across the Indonesian community, including its
leaders who say one thing and then do another," he told the House
of Representatives' plenary session which marked the end of its
fourth sitting for 1995-1996.

The fourth sitting began on May 6. The House goes into recess
today to give legislators time to visit their constituents. The
recess will end on Aug. 15. President Soeharto is expected to
open the next sitting with his state of the nation speech on Aug.
16.

The house speaker is famous for his critical speeches whenever
he opens or closes the House's sittings. In his speech yesterday,
he berated the government's policies on social, political and
economic development. In other parts of his speech, he criticized
other groups including the House.

He expressed concern about what he described as narrowing
intellectualism, marked by a decline in objectiveness and social
awareness; something he called a "primordialism of intellect".

"This is a saddening development," he said.

Wahono said he was also saddened by the "moral decadence"
affecting all layers of society, including "the state's
administrators". He cited a number of incidents which he said
proved the moral decay of society.

He said that during the last sitting, the House had watched
various alarming affairs which showed how mentally unprepared the
state apparatus was for dealing with "uncontrollable social and
political situations".

Wahono did not only criticize the elite power brokers. He also
chided his colleagues, expressing regret that the House was too
slow to respond to these saddening developments.

He pointed out that House members were also leaders who were
responsible for voicing people's aspirations; legislators should
not let people think they have no say.

"Even if some people believe it's already too late, we still
have to make that strong moral call to awake us all," he said.

Wahono yesterday reminded the House that Indonesia's national
leadership was collective: "This is why during crises we should
hold on to the spirit of collectivism, brotherhood and mutual
responsibility."

"The mechanism of musyawarah untuk mufakat (deliberation in
order to reach consensus) is a noble cultural tradition...based
on the belief that everybody has good intentions," he said. "The
process of reaching consensus shouldn't happen hastily, lest it
offends certain parties."

"We should try as hard as possible to deliberate, in a wise
and intelligent manner, so that we can avoid traumatizing other
people," he said.

Approaches to problems which violate the principles of broad-
based democratic leadership would undermine the nation's ability
to survive a crisis, he said.

"We have learned from our history that social engineering does
not survive crises," he said.

In his statement, Wahono also mentioned the alleged collusion
at the Supreme Court, which is the nation's last bastion of
justice.

"The House of Representatives believes that the question of
alleged collusion at the Supreme Court will be settled
appropriately," he said. Otherwise the Court would run the risk
of undermining its own credibility. (imn)