Jakarta – A majority of Indonesians are fed up with the ongoing political bickering and protracted economic crisis, and long for the stability of the Suharto era, a survey showed.

"Give us the good old days" was the cry of about three quarters of respondents of the survey conducted by the New Indonesia Alliance (PIB). The survey polled 600 people in Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Denpasar (Bali), Padang (West Sumatra), Makassar (South Sulawesi), Manado (North Sulawesi), Medan (North Sumatra) and Surabaya (East Java). They were split evenly between men and women with about one fourth holding a university degree.

About 76 per cent said they wanted the return of the security and stability in former president Suharto's New Order era. But they pointed out that they did not want a rebirth of the stringent political system which dominated it.

Respondents charged that the current administration seemed more interested in political bickering than solving the economic crisis. They also have little confidence in the government's ability to restore security and order.

"Most respondents were deeply concerned with the unrest in Aceh, Ambon, East Java and Sampit, and the recent presence of President Abdurrahman Wahid's militant supporters in Jakarta," said a PIB spokesman.

PIB chairman Sjahrir, a noted economist, described the current situation as nothing short of a miracle. "We are experiencing a miracle because the horrible economic crisis has only sparked violent riots in Aceh, Irian Jaya, Sampit, Jakarta, Solo, Surabaya and several other cities," he said.

"I cannot understand why the country still exists if viewed from an economic perspective." The political elite should work hard to defuse the crisis, restore political stability and uphold the supremacy of the law, he said.