He said here on Monday that "in our democracy now state symbols seemed to have been non-existence. The President as a symbol must be respected (and) may not be humiliated."
"Now we can see on television, the President (President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) are continuously being insulted," he said as a speaker at a panel discussion on" Creating Strong Generation and Respected Through Examples."
He said it did not mean that the insults on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was allowed.
He said President Yudhoyono had allowed them to happen in the framework of building democracy in the country.
"If we have an authoritarian leader our democracy may be dead," he said.
He said Indonesia now has a leader that wants democracy to continue to grow.
"We believe consolidation would happen later when people would understand the democratic values that match with local wisdom and Indonesian culture. I think it will be achieved," he said.
When asked after the discussion about the House of Representatives (DPR), Marzuki said the DPR as a political institution still needs improvement in view of increasing public criticisms to it including on member`s absence in meetings and hedonistic lifestyles.
"That is part of our responsibility to conduct reform. As a DPR speaker certainly I have no authority like that of the factions. But I have to convey it so that our colleagues become aware that we have to set examples for the people we are representing," he said.
(Uu.H-YH/HAJM/O001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
