Barbarians in the House<\/p>\n
Those acquainted with politics looked on in amusement. The
\nmajority of those who had held their representatives in something
\nlike reverence stared in bemusement.<\/p>\n
The cacophony of the assembly turned ugly on Wednesday as the
\nesteemed members of the House of Representatives nearly came to
\nblows during a debate over the fuel price hike. Free speech and
\nopinion veered toward a free-for-all.<\/p>\n
A shouting match quickly turned to pushing and shoving as
\nlegislators tried to reach the House speaker, all the time waving
\ntheir mobile phones about as dangerous weapons.<\/p>\n
Surrounding the speaker's dais, their actions and taunts were
\nmore akin to professional wrestlers than learned gentlemen
\nentrusted with the affairs of state.<\/p>\n
That the whole thing was caught on camera and broadcast hourly
\non television only made the whole thing worse. The beneficiaries
\nof the country's democracy were teaching their subjects all the
\nwrong lessons.<\/p>\n
Democracy is a learning process. Wednesday's outburst helped
\nunlearn the civility of our nascent democracy. With life getting
\ntougher by the day, a brawl in the most revered hall of
\nIndonesia's democracy will only leave millions wondering whether
\ndemocracy is worth the sacrifice.<\/p>\n
No one said democracy would be easy. Mohammad Hatta, the first
\nvice president, conceded in 1956 that \"democracy needs
\npractice ... there must be some practice for a nation not
\naccomplished in this exercise at the national level\".<\/p>\n
Even great visionaries of the system such as American James
\nMadison noted that democracies have always been spectacles of
\nturbulence and contention. But what transpired at the House was
\nnot \"practice\". It was a process of implosion.<\/p>\n
We hope Wednesday's embarrassment will not damage the people's
\ntrust in our democratic institutions. It would be good to remind
\nourselves of Plato's charge to remain faithful in the belief that
\nthe trouble with democracy was not due to the absence of the rule
\nof law, but that the wrong people were running it -- those who
\nhad little virtue.<\/p>\n
Virtue, honor and a code of conduct should be intrinsic among
\nthose who wear the House insignia pinned to their lapels.<\/p>\n
Another late great politician of the 1950s parliamentary era,
\nMohammad Natsir, highlighted three errs made by Indonesia's
\nlegislators that undermined the democratic process.<\/p>\n
The first was a decay of idealism that allowed pique and greed
\nto rule. The second was a fading of the line between acceptable
\nand unacceptable behavior to accomplish one's objectives.<\/p>\n
The third was the absence of a sense of justice that allowed
\nthe wrong man to be put in the wrong place.<\/p>\n
Natsir's observations are as true today as they were when he
\nmade them 50 years ago.<\/p>\n
The ends being sought by the legislators may have been noble,
\nbut the means by which they pursued them was not. Even
\nschoolchildren can resolve their difference without having to
\nresort to fighting.<\/p>\n
Given the vibrancy of Indonesia's society, more contentious
\nissues than the fuel price increases are likely to arise in the
\ncoming months.<\/p>\n
Already perceived publicly with a cynical eye, without
\ndecorum, respect for dissenting opinion and a sense of duty the
\nHouse will become an assembly of disorder and disaster.<\/p>\n
And sadly, despite the unnecessary brouhaha, legislators still
\ncould not resolve their differences over the fuel price
\nincreases. So what was all the rage for?<\/p>\n
Politics is the art of getting other people to do what you
\nwant without them knowing it. This sort of finesse defines great
\npoliticians.<\/p>\n
Such savvy -- the kind that separates great politicians from
\nthe average seat warmers in the House -- is clearly still lacking
\namong our legislators.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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