Building a shrewder society by promoting political education<\/p>\n
Mohammad Nasih, Researcher, KATALIS Foundation, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As scheduled by the General Elections Commission (KPU), the
\ngeneral election of 2004 will start on April 5, when people go to
\nthe polls to elect members of the House of Representatives (DPR),
\nRegional Representative Councils (DPD) and Regional Legislatures
\n(DPRD). This means that the election, held once every five years,
\nis only a few months away.<\/p>\n
No wonder the preelection atmosphere can now be felt,
\nparticularly because the political elite have started maneuvering
\nto serve their own and their groups' interests. Their moves are
\ntaking different forms but the politicians refuse to admit having
\nbegun campaigning early.<\/p>\n
The continuity of the nation's future depends considerably on
\nthe outcome of this election. Whether the nation is going to
\nexperience an improved and enlightened state of survival or
\nplunge into a deeper abyss will be determined by the results of
\nthis political race, as it turns out national leaders mandated to
\ndirect this country of over 200 million people.<\/p>\n
Therefore, in order to ensure the election of the true
\nnational leaders expected by society, the people eligible to vote
\nshould have comprehensive and mature knowledge, vision and
\nconsideration. Their political attitude should in no way be
\ncounterproductive vis-a-vis the public aspirations to be brought
\nto reality. The simple logic is that a correct political attitude
\nwill bring about good leaders, and the other way round. Though
\nthis is not an absolute guarantee, a correct political stance has
\nthe greatest chance of securing true leaders.<\/p>\n
A right political attitude should be acquired by making exact
\ncalculations. It indeed is not simple because those to be
\ndirectly involved in the election of leaders are millions of
\npeople with diverse levels of knowledge of the intricate
\npolitical realities, while the choices offered are difficult and
\nconfusing. The intricacies and difficulties are at least
\nimaginable when we notice that the presidential election law
\nproduced through horse-trading between major legislative groups
\nfails to define criteria for good quality leaders in moral and
\nintellectual terms.<\/p>\n
The faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
\n(PDI Perjuangan) insisted that the academic requirement for a
\ncandidate be dropped, certainly to enable Megawati to run for
\nanother term. The faction of the Golkar Party urged that no
\nprovision prevent a criminal defendant from being a nominee,
\nobviously in connection with the Buloggate II graft case that
\nGolkar chairman Akbar Tandjung was convicted for. The faction of
\nthe National Awakening Party (PKB) omitted the \"ability to read
\nand write\" condition, otherwise it would not be able to field ex-
\npresident Gus Dur.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, there are only a very small number of voters
\ncapable of making such political calculations so far, which is
\neven more the case in view of the political elite's sophisticated
\nscenarios. The political players have prepared their \"traps\",
\ncrude and refined, to make people unaware that they are actually
\nbeing snared. So the question is which of the political groups
\nwill later benefit from the population's weak attitude. It is
\nthis aspect that needs discussion for a proper solution.
\nPeople's dilemma<\/p>\n
At present, the discourse on golput (\"white group\", those
\nrefusing to vote) is becoming widespread among not only the
\nmiddle and upper classes, but also the grassroots. This stance is
\nlegitimate because every citizen has the right to vote and this
\nright, unlike an obligation, may or may not be exercised.<\/p>\n
Golput has arisen against the background of public
\ndisappointment in the performance of the political elite,
\nconsidered less responsive to the aspirations and interests of
\nthe majority. The political elite are also seen as giving
\npriority to their own personal, family and group interests. This
\nhas led to the critical belief that the masses are merely
\nmobilized during election periods to serve the political elite.<\/p>\n
At first glance, golput constitutes an intellectual
\nadvancement on the part of society in the evaluation of political
\nreality based on what it has perceived so far. However, golput
\nshould not just be favorable to the status quo group in such a
\nway that it can maintain its political power.<\/p>\n
The calculation is in fact very complicated but it is an
\nabsolute requirement because the population will have to
\ndetermine the nation's fate in the future.<\/p>\n
To ensure accurate political calculation, people's
\nempowerment, in this case their political education, is
\ninevitable. This is actually one of the functions of political
\nparties, which ideally become the mouthpiece of the public at
\nlarge. Yet these parties seem unwilling to educate people for
\nfear of being abandoned as the latter become politically
\nliterate.<\/p>\n
For this reason, the role of political education should be
\npromptly taken over by other institutions like non-government
\norganizations and independent mass associations with populist
\ncommitments, before everything gets too late. The masses should
\nbe invited to discuss the most effective method of imposing
\nretributive justice on the political parties that make empty
\npromises during election periods only to regain power.<\/p>\n
The most important purpose of political education is to enable
\nindividuals' positive orientation to political values, covering
\nthe essence of citizenship, democracy, political affiliation,
\ncriticism and auto-criticism. In this way, the bargaining
\nposition of the masses will be strengthened in the face of
\nparties and the political elite, which will be forced to nurture
\na higher sense of responsibility to society.<\/p>\n
The writer is a participant of the Political Sciences
\nPostgraduate Program at the University of Indonesia.<\/p>",
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