ID :
78142
Thu, 09/03/2009 - 09:22
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/78142
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RI DEMOCRACY TO BECOME "CLUMSY" WITHOUT OPPOSITION :ACADEMIC
Jakarta, Sept 2 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's democratic system will become "clumsy" if all major parties coalesce with the ruling party for the next five years, leaving the government without a balancing power, an observer said.
Dr R Siti Zuhro, a senior researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said she would suggest that the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP) remain outside the government to provide balance so that Indonesian democracy would remain credible.
"The Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP) should become a formal opposition and be a balancing power to the government," she said.
The offer from the ruling party to Taufik Kiemas (chairman of the PDIP's advisory board) to be nominated for the post of People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) was a test for the PDIP's idealism, she said.
Noting that Taufik Kiemas and his wife, Megawati Soekarnoputri (former president and PDIP leader) differed in opinion on Kiemas accepting the MPR post, Siti Zuhro said Megawati was right in rejecting the offer for the sake of her party's future.
"If the PDIP accepts the ruling party's offer and joins the pro-government coalition, its prospects in 2014 will be bleak indeed, and the ruling party (Demcoratic Party or PD) will be even in a more advtantageous position," she said.
"Then Indonesia's democratic system will in the next five years become clumsy and opportunistic," she added.
Earlier, Bima Arya Sugiarto, a political observer from the socio-political research otganization Charta Politika, said the MPR chairman position offer to Taufik Kiemas could weaken the PDIP's capability to serve as a formal opposition, a function the party had been preparing itself for since 2004.
If the formal opposition's power weakened or vanished, the result would be the emergence of an informal opposition and this could harm Indonesia's democratic system, he said.
"The informal opposition could manifest itself in mass mobilization or underground activities just as often happened during the New Order era. This will not be good for Indonesian democracy," Bima said.
The formal opposition function performed by PDIP so far had served as a conduit for informal opposition groups to express their criticisms and objections to government policies in legal and orderly ways, he said.
If Taufik Kiemas accepts the MPR position, and joins the PD-led coalition, the PDIP's position as a formal opposition will be weakened or even come to an end. Then objections to government policies can no longer be expressed in a normal manner, he said.
Bima suggested that the formal opposition power the PDIP had built so far be maintained and remain linked to the informal opposition so that the latter would continue to have a channel to voice its aspirations. ***1***
Dr R Siti Zuhro, a senior researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said she would suggest that the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP) remain outside the government to provide balance so that Indonesian democracy would remain credible.
"The Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP) should become a formal opposition and be a balancing power to the government," she said.
The offer from the ruling party to Taufik Kiemas (chairman of the PDIP's advisory board) to be nominated for the post of People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) was a test for the PDIP's idealism, she said.
Noting that Taufik Kiemas and his wife, Megawati Soekarnoputri (former president and PDIP leader) differed in opinion on Kiemas accepting the MPR post, Siti Zuhro said Megawati was right in rejecting the offer for the sake of her party's future.
"If the PDIP accepts the ruling party's offer and joins the pro-government coalition, its prospects in 2014 will be bleak indeed, and the ruling party (Demcoratic Party or PD) will be even in a more advtantageous position," she said.
"Then Indonesia's democratic system will in the next five years become clumsy and opportunistic," she added.
Earlier, Bima Arya Sugiarto, a political observer from the socio-political research otganization Charta Politika, said the MPR chairman position offer to Taufik Kiemas could weaken the PDIP's capability to serve as a formal opposition, a function the party had been preparing itself for since 2004.
If the formal opposition's power weakened or vanished, the result would be the emergence of an informal opposition and this could harm Indonesia's democratic system, he said.
"The informal opposition could manifest itself in mass mobilization or underground activities just as often happened during the New Order era. This will not be good for Indonesian democracy," Bima said.
The formal opposition function performed by PDIP so far had served as a conduit for informal opposition groups to express their criticisms and objections to government policies in legal and orderly ways, he said.
If Taufik Kiemas accepts the MPR position, and joins the PD-led coalition, the PDIP's position as a formal opposition will be weakened or even come to an end. Then objections to government policies can no longer be expressed in a normal manner, he said.
Bima suggested that the formal opposition power the PDIP had built so far be maintained and remain linked to the informal opposition so that the latter would continue to have a channel to voice its aspirations. ***1***
