Jakarta – Civil society groups and the press are expected to serve as opposition functions during the next administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as most political parties had joined the government, a shift that may lead to a weakened checks and balances systems.
Agus Sudibyo, deputy director of the Technology and Aesthetic Science Foundation (SET), said Tuesday that Yudhoyono had carried out strong negotiations with political parties, resulting in the parties' members holding important posts in his Cabinet.
"There is a relatively strong opposition against Yudhoyono's previous cabinet. Now, civil society groups and the press are likely to be the only ones able to serve as opposition to the government in the next Cabinet," said Agus during a public discussion on the absence of strong opposition against the next Cabinet held in Jakarta on Tuesday.
"The government's performance, which is likely to be based on political parties' interests, will be monitored by the press and civil societies," he said, adding advocacy for civil societies would heavily depend on support from the press.
"After the authoritarian regime of the former president Soeharto stepped down in 1998, the press and civil societies worked together to create reforms, to change the existing systems. The press also sensitively voiced public opinion."
He added that the press had become a melting pot of information from several sources during Yudhoyono's previous administration. "Media impartiality and professionalism are expected to provide a space for freedom of expression during the next administration."
The Chairman of the Executive Board of Transparency International Indonesia, Todung Mulya Lubis, said one of the problems of Yudhoyono's previous administration was that the government and the House of Representatives often did not raise public awareness of bills to be endorsed.
"They rushed to endorse drafts, which resulted in mistakes during the endorsement process," he said, referring to the recently passed Health Law without a sub-article on tobacco, which had gone missing during the final phase of the deliberation process.
The public became aware of the missing sub-article after the media headlined the issue. The absent paragraph classified tobacco and tobacco-related products as addictive substances that were damaging to individuals, people and the environment.
Former legislator Andreas Parera said the incident happened as many House members had not even read the drafts.
He estimated only between 30 percent and 40 percent of the House members were familiar with public issues during draft discussions. Todung said many developed countries placed lobbyists in the parliament to prevent the government and the House from making policies against public interests.
He added the lobbyists could also inform the press of the progress of draft discussions. (nia)