Expert: Political Groups' Interests Dominate Indonesian Democracy
31 March 2015 11:50 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia Public Institute (IPI) senior researcher, Karyono Wibowo, has opined that the interests of political groups are more dominant than the mechanism of "check-and-balance" in Indonesian democracy.
"It is true that the mechanism of check and balance is needed in democracy, but in reality, the interests of political groups have been more dominant since the Old Order era," Karyono stated on Monday as quoted by Antara News.
According to Karyono, all the political chaos since the early days of President Joko Widodo's and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's government has indicated that political elites are increasingly trapped in conflicts that are actually counterproductive.
He pointed out that the political chaos in the executive and legislative bodies is apparent from the issues such the fluctuating fuel prices, the extension of agreement with PT Freeport, the problem in selecting the candidate for the post of National Police (Polri) chief, the conflict between Polri and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), and the right to inquiry against Justice Minister Yassona Laoly.
ANTARA NEWS
