Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – A US political analyst has lauded the Indonesian Military (TNI) for helping to improve the country's democracy by staying out of active politics for the past nine years.

Alfred C. Stepan, director of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Tolerance and Religion at Columbia University in New York, said Monday he was impressed by the TNI's commitment to remain out of political activities, and this commitment had contributed to the country's progress toward democracy.

"During nine years of this transition era, it is good that the TNI has never attempted to take back their power like they used to have during the New Order era. There were moments of temptation, but they never did that because they know it would be dangerous for them," Stepan said after speaking at a seminar on the role of the military in countries making the transition to democracy.

"In a democratic country, the people do not want any state institution to take over the entire state affairs.

"The fact that the military gave away their seats at the House (in 2004) and that they accepted the military's dual-function concept being erased and the police being separated from them (in January 2001) is impressive."

During the New Order regime, the then Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) were provided 100 seats in the House. Besides active involvement in politics, ABRI functioned to safeguard the nation and also undertook the task of "building the nation", a role that was open to interpretation.

Despite the progress, Stepan said more effort was needed by the TNI to help establish safety and security in the country, including reforming its relationship with the police.

He did not touch on the issue of the TNI's involvement in business. To improve the professionalism of the military, the government has prohibited military personnel from involvement in business activities, as stipulated in the 2004 law on the TNI.

The law also says the military should give up its business interests and activities and turn over all assets to the government. The TNI has said it will hand over its business units to the government, but wants the government to be responsible for fulfilling all the military's budgetary needs.

Military analyst Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said he agreed the military should not be involved in business, because it could divert their focus from safeguarding the nation.

"In fact, TNI businesses only contribute 1 percent to their budgetary needs. It is therefore unreasonable if the TNI does not want the government to take over its businesses, as it may indicate illegal dealings behind their real businesses," Kusnanto said.