Jakarta – Former cabinet minister Siswono Yudohusodo stressed the necessity of immediate political and economic reforms yesterday, indicating that a cabinet reshuffIe may be needed to help defuse the national crisis.
"Seeing the deterioration in the quality of life in the social economic and political fields immediate reform has become a must. There are no other alternatives, " said the former minister of transmigration at a seminar on reform organized by Nasional University.
He said the people were losing confidence in the government and in certain issues, the government was not even respected anymore.
"The current crisis cannot be defused by an administration which lacks credibility and is without the people's support, " he said, adding that the image of the Armed Forces also had deteriorated compared to a decade ago.
He cited corruption among government officials, nepotism in the recruitment of House of Representatives members and the appointment of government and military officials as having contributed to the deterioration of public confidence in the government.
He also attacked the national car program, saying that it had tarnished the country's image.
"When the program began, PT Timor Putra National imported 40,000 units of Korean-made cars with tax breaks. At home, the cars' Korean brand was changed to Timor. It's an immoral deed. Then, in order to cover that negative impression, it was said that the cars were made by Indonesian workers sent to Korea, although the Indonesian workers were really employed at a glass factory, " he said.
Siswono, also a businessman, warned that economic reform was urgent.
"In certain fields, reform is a must because delay could spark demands for drastic changes that could turn into c revolution," he said.
Concrete steps
Siswono suggested concrete steps the government should take in carrying out economic and political reforms.
He stressed that the government must consistently comply with the IMF-sponsored reform package. "The government's hesitation to implement the program in the past has contributed to the prolonged economic crisis," he said.
A reshuffle of the current cabinet may be necessary to regain public confidence in the government, he said.
Siswono said ministers not committed to the eradication of corruption, collusion and nepotism should be replaced.
The government should reconcile with critics and possibly accommodate them in a reshuffled cabinet to strengthen national solidarity, he said.
Concerning presidential succession, he said President Soeharto should be replaced in 2003 by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) because he would be 82, an age considered too old for the post.
"However, a hasty replacement of the President and Vice President is also believed by some as a way to enable the nation to quickly solve existing problems because it would be effective in winning new government legitimacy, " he said.
Another step should include the greater empowerment of the state audit agency while auditing the assets of government officials. The agency should also issue regulations banning families of officials from doing business with their own departments.
The review of key laws, such as for elections, on political organizations, on state legislative bodies and provincial and regency councils and the establishment an antimonopoly law would be necessary, he said.
He said the MPR should also issue a decree limiting presidential terms of office. The proportional election system should be changed to a district system in the next general elections for the House of Representatives and the MPR, he said. On top of this, the elections should be fair and democratic.
He said the government should take clear, transparent and integrated steps in handling cases of abducted activists in order to regain public confidence.
"One main task of the government is to protect all citizens and make them to feel safe," he said.
The government should learn from these cases that it is of great importance to uphold human rights, he said.