ABRI legislator says not voting a valid option<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): A military legislator said choosing not to vote
\nin the election was a \"valid\" option in Indonesian politics.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Theo Syafei, a member of the Armed Forces (ABRI)
\nfaction of the House of Representatives, said in a seminar here
\nSaturday that joining the ranks of golput was a valid choice, as
\nlong as it did not also involve persuading others to boycott the
\ngeneral election.<\/p>\n
Golput literally means \"white group\". The term was coined to
\ndescribe the people who choose to either abstain from voting, or
\nwho protest by invalidating their ballot paper.<\/p>\n
\"However, if golput is defined as boycotting the (elections),
\nthen (those who join) are wrong and irresponsible,\" Theo said at
\nthe seminar on nationalism. The other speakers were Bambang W.
\nSoeharto of the National Commission on Human Rights, former
\nmilitary legislator R.K. Sembiring Meliala and sociologist Hotman
\nSiahaan.<\/p>\n
The 1985 general election law says that people preventing
\nothers from exercising their right to vote could be jailed for up
\nto five years. Agitation charges may also be leveled at anyone
\nattempting to persuade others to boycott a general election. They
\ncould be sentenced to up to six years in jail.<\/p>\n
When asked whether not voting was proof of a lack of
\nnationalistic feeling, Theo said: \"Every citizen has the freedom
\nto and the right to vote, or not to vote. A person can either
\nchoose one of the political contestants, choose all three, or not
\nvote at all.\"<\/p>\n
He said that although voting was not mandatory, it would be
\nbetter if people did. \"Don't just abandon the polls because you
\ndon't find (any parties) you like.<\/p>\n
\"If you do this, I'm afraid your ballot paper will be taken
\nand used by your district head. Just come to the polling booths.
\nIf you don't, it can be interpreted as boycotting the poll,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"It's like being invited to a party by one of your relatives.
\nWe have to go, even though we might not find it agreeable. Then,
\n(if you're offered a meal), just say you're fasting,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Election participation in Indonesia has exceeded 90 percent
\nsince 1971. Analysts estimate that one million people did not
\nvote in the last election five years ago.<\/p>\n
Analysts have used several polls, conducted sporadically this
\nyear, to support their prediction that the percentage of non-
\nvoters could be higher this year. A recent survey by the
\nIndonesian National Youth Committee in Malang, East Java, showed
\nthat 85 percent of youths in the area would not vote in the
\nelection.<\/p>\n
A poll conducted last year by Riswandha Imawan, a lecturer at
\nGadjah Mada University's School of Social and Political Sciences,
\nsaid that 60 percent of the 1,000 students surveyed would boycott
\nthe election.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the university's student body conducted a
\nsimilar poll and found that 36.6 percent said they would not
\nvote.<\/p>\n
Even more recently, the Yogyakarta state-owned Institute of
\nIslamic Studies surveyed 300 students to find that 40 percent
\nwould not vote. Twenty-eight percent said they had not even
\nconsidered voting.<\/p>\n
Fifty-three percent of those who chose not to vote said
\ncheating in the elections was the reason they would not vote.
\nMost, 85 percent, said general elections were held only to
\nmaintain the status quo and to prevent reform.<\/p>\n
The poll results were announced at a gathering in Yogyakarta
\nlast Tuesday.<\/p>\n
In March, the Yogyakarta Institute of Islamic Studies'
\nstudents issued a \"declaration of Golput\" signed by most of them.<\/p>\n
Government officials and many social scientists have said some
\nsurvey methods may be questionable.<\/p>\n
Coup<\/p>\n
Theo also spoke frankly and firmly about the possibility of
\nthe Army waging a coup against the administration. He said: \"Coup
\nd'etat is a non-word in the (historical) book of the Army of the
\nRepublic of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Had the Army wished to stage a coup, they would have taken
\none of the opportunities (present over the years). But in our
\nhistory, the Army has never intended to stage one.\"<\/p>\n
Theo is well-known for his term as chief of the Udayana
\nregional military command which also oversees East Timor. He said
\nthe Armed Forces and the other social and political forces \"are
\nbrothers in the one family of the nation and should be united.\"<\/p>\n
\"(The wish to launch) a coup could only emerge from the warped
\nmind of an unbeliever. Even thinking about it is a sin. So, don't
\neven think,\" said Theo, who became a legislator in 1995.
\n(23\/nur\/06\/swe)<\/p>",
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