PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION MUST PRODUCE PRO-PEOPLE LEADERSHIP

Jakarta, June 12 (ANTARA) - The upcoming presidential election must be able to produce a national leadership that can improve the people's welfare based on the principles of justice and civil rights, a political scientist said.

Economic growth was indeed needed but democratic consolidation must continue in order to achieve economic independence and improvement of the people's welfare, Bara Hasibuan said here on Thursday in a dialog themed "Preventing a Setback to Democracy in the Post-Presidential Election Era".

In the New Order era, Soeharto had managed to raise the country's economic growth to seven percent but it had to be paid dearly in the form of human rights violations, rampant corruption, budget leakages of up to 30 percent, and uneven economic growth, Hasibuan said.
Such conditions were similar to what happened in Russia under the Vladimir Putin regime which pursued economic growth at the cost of the people's democratic rights, he said.

"Therefore, we don't want the democratic agenda to be neglected after the presidential election because the nation's transition to democracy must continue," he said.

Meanwhile, Arie Sujito, a political scientist from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) said, during the one decade of reform, the country's democratization process and democratic achievements had become historic facts while the government and parliament had initiated many significant breakthroughs.

"Relations between the military and civilians which experienced ups and downs during the Gus Dur and Magawati administrations, have been returned to their proper proportions. It means that the government has managed to reduce the involvement of the military in politics. This should be continued," he said.

He said the poverty rate had been lowered and the peace processes in several areas such as Aceh and Papua had worked. "All of these things are proof of the success achieved by the SBY administration," he said.

Indonesia will hold its second direct presidential election on July 8, 2009.