Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro says up to this date the Indonesian Military (TNI) has remained neutral in politics because the law has commanded them to do so. For the right to vote in elections, he said, the current 2004 law on the Indonesian Military must be revised.
Purnomo was commenting amid debate about granting individual military personnel the right to vote in general elections. The law revision is among 247 laws slated in the legislation period of 2010 to 2014. However, the law is not slated for deliberation this year.
"We still don't know whether the law's revision will be discussed next year as well. Thus the TNI will obey the current law," Purnomo said.
The law does not clearly stipulate members of the military are not allowed to vote. But Article 39 says members are not allowed to get involved in political practices, join political parties or run for legislature or any other political positions.
The idea came last week when the TNI chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said his institution was mulling the matter. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono later gave his support to the idea.
Debates have since emerged, with proponents saying the idea was in line with democracy.
Human rights watchdog Imparsial supported the idea, provided the military finish reform programs, especially regarding the military tribunal, which has so far given the military an extent of immunity in civil courts.
Opponents, however, raised various concerns, from power abuse to hierarchical order in the institution, where superiors could order subordinates to favor certain parties. They also called into question the motives of supporters from political parties.
Purnomo, however, said TNI personnel, numbering 400,000 across the country, would not boost voter participation that much. Indonesia's number of eligible voters is about 120 to 130 million.
Purnomo said that even if the soldiers were granted their political rights, it would be one to vote, not one to run for any political positions. "We still expect every military member to resign from their position before he or she enters politics," he said.
Former military commander Gen. (ret.) Endriartono Sutarto supported the idea of giving the military their right to vote, saying that the military had reached maturity so they would not easily be led in the wrong direction. "We have seen military reform since 1999, now is the time to give them their right to vote," he said.
Commenting on this, lawyer cum human rights activist Adnan Buyung Nasution said many political experiments granting the military full access to politics in the past only proved that they were as corrupt as those in the past. "I will do my best to keep TNI away from politics," he said.
Sharing Buyung's stance, lawmaker Chotibul Umam Wiranu from the Democratic Party said the military institution might be corrupted by political motives. "Once the military graze with political parties, it will likely create an unhealthy atmosphere," he said.
Political observer Ikrar Nusa Bakti from Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said the TNI was not ready to exercise that right in the upcoming election in 2014.
"I'd prefer 2019, when the reform era has reached the age of 21. By then, I hope the 'military strong-men' will have resigned from politics," he said, as quoted by kompas.com.
Opponents have cast doubt over the progress of the TNI reform as a prerequisite of TNI's right to vote.