Keep Political-Economic Reforms on the Right Track
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - There have been two phenomena raised during the legislative election last April: money politics and the possibility of presidential candidate with bad background to win the presidential election on Monday, 5 July. These experience then compel us to reflect the importance of keeping the political and economic reform on the right track, since the fall of Suharto in May 1988 which then be followed with President BJ Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid, and now the incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri have once again failed to carry out the national agenda. This is the political-economic agenda that has been strongly voiced by students in 1998.
Monday's election is the country's first ever-made presidential election. The majority of the Indonesian people now prefer to voice their favourite candidate for the presidency. And yet, the most urgently need that has strongly voiced by prominent figures in the country is too keep the political-economic agenda on the right track. As Mgr Julius Sunarko SJ from the Diocese of Purwokerto in Central Java has put it: "First things are social justice, law enforcement, prosperity, and people's participation in the making of public policy."
In a letter sent to AsiaNews today, former President of St Paul Seminary in Yogyakarta and former treasurer of Jesuit Indonesian Province, Bishop Julius Sunarko expressed his concern about the failure of the present government to promote social justice and law enforcement in the country. He then referred to the failure of law enforcers to bring high-profile businessmen with big debt to court. Instead, government had promulgated the controversial policy of 'release and discharge' for those corruptors. "Justice and law enforcement should be promoted as these are preliminary steps toward prosperity. Prosperity can be achieved not in just one single day," said Bishop Sunarko.
People's participation is a must and this is should be guaranteed. This works as long as there is political education among ordinary citizen. "People has to know what to do and the government should listen to what people want to do and not to do," he added.
On the other hand, democracy should also be maintained and guaranteed. According to noted Muslim scholar Ulil Abshar Abdallah, democracy consists of these two important agenda. "The abolition of political discrimination toward the minorities in the country (Chinese ethnicity, christian-budhism-hinduism among the major Muslim community) and the political guarantee of minority's rights," said the President f Muslim Indonesian Liberal Network.
"I cannot say what the Indonesian people expect from this election. I prefer to say what I want to expect from this political agenda: at least prosperity and social justice should be maintained. This means that not only high profile citizens such as businessmen, politician who have the opportunity to be wealthy and prosperous. But ordinary people have also the same opportunity. Creating jobs opportunity is a must and strict regulation in business sector should be practised," added Ulil who is also human rights activist from the country's largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).
Bishop Julius Sunarko and Ulil have something in common when they speak of social justice and prosperity. "Spreading of financial benefits among the people should be practiced," said both prominent figures from different religious community. "Land reform is only one example. Please never give much opportunity to those wealthy people to have more and more land, while marginalized people have only the chance to rent small houses but with high fee," said Bishop Julius.
"The rich should not be richer and richer again. Otherwise, ordinary people will have their opportunity to get jobs with good salary and the opportunity to have educational right with much lower financing," said Ulil.
But this noted Muslim scientist adds that freedom of thinking and the deliberation of cultural ideas should also be maintained by next government.
And so, the big issue is not who will be the winner of this Monday's presidential election. But, whether social justice, prosperity, law enforcement, economic recovery, and freedom of speech be maintained or not?
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