What kind of coalition?
What kind of coalition?
If media public opinion polls with all their inherent
imperfections are anything to go by, it should be clear by now
that of all the 48 political parties to take part in the June 7
general election, only a handful will emerge strong enough to
influence the political decision-making process in this country
for the next five years.
Media polls have painted a picture of the Indonesian political
landscape as follows: Consistently on top of the list in most
polls has been the mass-based Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), followed by its four main contenders
-- the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), Golkar, the
National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party
(PKB) -- in sequences that indicate less consistency.
Many political analysts predict that not one party will emerge
strong enough to garner even 40 percent of the votes cast in the
upcoming elections -- a prognosis that has contributed to the
strong public resentment against the Armed Forces being given 38
non-elected seats in the legislature.
Consider further the fact that 135 representatives of the
country's regions, plus 65 representatives of professional groups
in the community, will join the 462 elected members and 38 non-
elected military representatives in the House of Representatives
to form the People's Consultative Assembly -- which is the
repository of the people's sovereignty and the nation's highest
policy-making body -- and it is clear that it will be an uphill
battle for even the biggest political party to singlehandedly
push through its policies.
This kind of situation makes it imperative for political
parties to make compromises and establish working alliances or
coalitions with amenable parties to steer the legislative process
toward their objectives.
Amid all of this, there is one particular objective of crucial
importance that must not be overlooked. That is the completion of
the reform process set in motion by the student protests which
culminated in the downfall of president Soeharto on May 21 last
year. That process is far from completed, though a tendency
exists in the present transitional administration of President
B.J. Habibie to consider it to be -- except perhaps for a few
finishing touches here and there.
The importance of carrying the reform process through to its
very end cannot be underscored enough. Undeniably, progress has
been made on several fronts -- freedom of the press and of
association being among them. However, much more remains to be
done. Corruption, collusion and nepotism remain as ubiquitous as
they were during the heyday of Soeharto's New Order regime, with
all the efforts to stamp them out seeming more cosmetic than
real.
The authorities' respect for basic human rights leaves much to
be desired. The continued imprisonment of several dissident youth
activists whose guilt was never satisfactorily proven in court is
a case in point. The government's apparent disinterest in
bringing the many cases of human rights violations to a fair and
satisfactory conclusion is another. What all this boils down to
is that a strong legal framework must be put in place to ensure
not only that the democratic reforms are maintained, but that
there will be no regression to authoritarian rule.
For this to be accomplished, a strong reform-oriented
government is needed to lay the groundwork for a truly democratic
Indonesia which may emerge in, say, five or 10 years. But this
can only be achieved if an effective coalition of pro-reform
parties can be formed. Since this affects the lives of the entire
nation, now and in the future, the public should be informed as
early as possible of the choices they should make to achieve
these goals.
It is unfortunate that so far the public has been left to
guess about the coalitions that may come about. If people are to
make the right choices, to either support or oppose reform, the
political parties that are at present vying for votes could help
by letting people know what kind of coalitions they can expect.