Yogie rejects call to set up opposition parties

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. yesterday firmly rejected the proposal to turn the two minority political parties in Indonesia into opposition forces from their current role as "partners" of the government.

"I think we have reaped the benefits (from the current system)," Yogie told reporters before attending a cabinet meeting at Bina Graha presidential office. "Why change it?"

The presence of an opposition force would not necessarily make the government more effective, Yogie argued, stressing that what is really needed is for the minority parties to "function more effectively."

The proposal to change the current political format came from respected Moslem scholar Nurcholish Madjid in Jakarta on Monday who argued that the presence of effective opposition forces would provide check and balances that would ensure a clean government.

The United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) have seen their role reduced to a marginal one in the country's political decision making process.

Policies are determined largely by Golkar, the ruling political group, and the powerful Armed Forces (ABRI) which has seats allocated in the House of Representatives.

Yogie said checks and balances do exist in the current political system and that it does not take the presence of an opposition party to "make corrections".

"I'm not saying that the (minority) political parties are not effective. I sincerely hope they are, so that they can accommodate the wishes of the people," he said.

He denied the suggestions that criticisms against the government by the political parties were ignored. "They were noted."

Any move to change the political system must wait for the next gathering of the People's Consultative Assembly which is not due until 1998, he said. "There won't be any change until then."

He said, however, that the idea could still be discussed.

"Sure, anyone can have different opinions...I do that all the time at home. One person wants to have this particular dish, another wants gulai (curry). I think it's good if there are differences of opinions."

Both the PPP and PDI were established in 1972 with the support of the government. The PPP was formed from a coalition of four Moslem parties while PDI was a merger of Christian and nationalist forces.

Both parties accepted the role of "partners" of the government assigned to them in return for seats in President Soeharto's cabinets. But since the 1980s to the present day, Soeharto has excluded the minority parties from his successive cabinets.

When asked to comment on this, Yogie responded that the formation of the cabinet is fully the prerogative of the President.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) yesterday welcomed Nurcholish's suggestion as a contribution to strengthening democracy.

YLBHI's director of communication Hendardi said that recognition of opposition forces is consistent with the people's right to have different opinions.

"In the name of democracy, these rights should be revived," Hendardi said. (emb)