What people say about the MPR General Session

JAKARTA (JP): The General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) next month is arguably the most eagerly anticipated in the nation's young history.

What does the public think of the MPR and, most importantly, does it hold any weight in its decisions?

Iman Taufik, vice president of mining and energy affairs at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry: I think the upcoming convening of the MPR will proceed smoothly as everything has been ironed out by the ad hoc committees.

I expect no surprises or major decisions ... It will surely elect incumbent President Soeharto, and the vice president would be a close ally of Soeharto, as he or she should be able to work closely with the President.

But I hope the MPR will elect a really capable person as VP... the position is critical now in this time of economic crisis...

Second, I hope the MPR will make the State Guidelines more operational... I'm afraid their fate would be like the previous state guidelines -- good on paper but really bad in implementation. It is just like the 36-point elucidation of our Pancasila, it is so good in concept, but in reality? ...There are so many officials in unethical collusion with businesspeople, so many hypocrites, so many bandits.

I also hope that the State Guidelines would put more emphasis on empowering small and medium local businesses.

If the MPR does not give a strong mandate to the government to pay more attention to small and medium enterprises and cooperatives, their fate will remain the same.

More importantly, by building strong small and medium enterprises, we build a strong domestic-base economy.

Look at Taiwan. In this time of regional crisis, it has managed to overcome the crisis, and the Taiwan currency remains strong.

Why? Because Taiwan's economy is supported by strong small and medium enterprises. What about us? Our economy is controlled by only 30 large business conglomerates. And now we can see, when these 30 conglomerates get the flu, our economy tumbles into uncharted depths.

So empowering local businesses is quite important for us. Again, I hope that our MPR will take care of this matter to save our economy.

Nyoman Moena, chairman of the advisory board of the Federation of Domestic Private Banks: I want to see the MPR uphold Pancasila democracy. As we all know, in Pancasila democracy, all decisions are taken through deliberations, all sorts of opinions are accommodated, there is neither a domination of the majority nor a tyranny of the minority.

The assembly should select only the best sons of the nation to become president and vice president. Everyone has their own taste in candidates, but they must trust the MPR to select the best.

Of course, the MPR will make several decisions... But they will be very general... Most important is the implementation (of these decisions) by the upcoming cabinet team.

Therefore, we also hope that the elected president and vice president would form a good, formidable cabinet team to transform those MPR decisions into operational measures.

I hope this one month toward the convening of the MPR would be used by all parties concerned to lobby each other to reconcile their differing opinions, so there will be no more differences when it convenes. The MPR should only hammer out all draft decisions.

However, I don't expect any surprises... But let's pray that the Assembly will proceed smoothly.

Leo B., 30, employee of a private telecommunication consultancy company: As representatives of the people, members of the People's Consultative Assembly should pay serious attention to their aspirations. This time they have to do it to avoid anything untoward, like social unrest...

Indications are clear that (State Minister for Research and Technology B.J.) Habibie could become Soeharto's running mate... Look at how the market reacted...

The next vice president should be good at handling the economy and friendly to the market. This is the main thing the members of the Assembly should take into account in deciding on the vice presidency.

Taher, 46, a teacher of Pancasila ideology at a public high school in Tangerang, West Java: I don't think the meeting of the People's Consultative Assembly will interest the public, they're more interested in the soaring prices.

The government has taken new measures according to its agreement with the IMF to tackle the economic crisis. Still, the lower class will suffer the most.

But... we can only pray to God so that the Assembly members will finally realize what the public wants, and not what the government wants. May God punish all who sin and give us a better life.

Muliani, 27, a housemaid in Ciputat, south of Jakarta: I don't know what the importance of the General Assembly is. But I have often heard people talking about it.

They say that if we have a new president we'll have a better life. Is it true? If it is, then the assembly should elect a new president and vice president. I would like to see my life improve.

Yanto, 21, a property employee in Pamulang, West Java: I hope the Assembly's meeting will help end the economic crisis. I have been out of a job during the last four months...

I'm not the only one. Many of my friends have lost their jobs recently. I'm very sad. How can we feed our families if the crisis continues?

I pray to God that the Assembly's members will choose the right people to become our president and vice president.

Heri Bongkok, a 23-year-old scavenger from Bandung: All I know is that we need a change, for president, vice president and ministers, so I hope that the coming assembly can give us what we need.

This country should learn from its experience, we can't go on like this. The small people are suffering from soaring prices, the victims of a few rich people playing around with their money, and the government knows that...

But I've never really cared about any government agenda because, for me, it a waste of time and energy.

The Assembly has nothing to do with me, so I don't care if it is successfully carried out or not.

(All that matters to me) is that I don't have any personal identification card, and I'm told I'm not eligible for it...

Haripta, a medical student at the University of Indonesia: The Assembly is the most important meeting... the future of this country depends on it...

However, I know most people don't really care about it as they don't understand what is being discussed, and maybe my knowledge is not enough, too...

But I hope that the assembly can be carried out smoothly... if there is trouble then it is the innocent people who will be affected, and I don't think we would want that to happen.

Atjip, a morgue employee: Is it really important what I think about the Assembly?

My logic is simple; if it's for our country, then we should pray for its success. In Islam, we are obliged to obey and respect our leaders. We should pray for the health and success of the president and his cabinet so they can be good leaders for us, and decide the best for the people.

Their weaknesses need not be much exposed and should be corrected discreetly, while their good points should be followed. (team)