Compromising the House<\/p>\n
A great Indonesian statesmen, M. Natsir, some five decades ago
\nwarned his fellow parliamentarians that democracy could survive
\nif the bonds of trust with the people were maintained.<\/p>\n
If only today we had but a few statesmen of his caliber in the
\nlegislature.<\/p>\n
The motives, although interesting, are irrelevant. The reality
\nis that for nearly three weeks our current House of
\nRepresentatives has been missing -- without action.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reasons, there is no excuse for further
\nsuspending legislative activities. The triviality, which the
\nsource of the dispute is widely perceived to be, is eroding
\npublic confidence.<\/p>\n
Over 113 million people turned out to vote in their belief in
\ndemocracy. Instead of carrying the faith of voters toward a
\ndebate of some greater good, the progeny of that election has
\nchosen to engage in petty disputes over commission seats, causing
\nan impasse that has created a backlog of key legislation and the
\npostponement of important decisions.<\/p>\n
Many may wonder why they bothered to vote on that momentous
\nMonday morning in April.<\/p>\n
We are reminded of Natsir's peer, Sjafruddin Prawiranegara,
\nwho foretold of this niggling inclination of politicians: \"When
\nseats and positions of power becomes an end and not a means, then
\ndemocracy lapses into coalitions. Eventually coalitions become
\nconsumed in anarchy\".<\/p>\n
We have not quite reached that stage yet. But without
\ncommon sense, our representative democracy is inching toward
\nchaos.<\/p>\n
The turn of the week brought about encouraging developments as
\nboth sides showed signs of mellowing. A meeting between the two
\nopposing coalitions Tuesday afternoon may have begun to close the
\ndivide, but there is no assurance that the House will now set to
\nwork.<\/p>\n
We believe it is time to say, once again, \"enough is enough\".<\/p>\n
Some convictions are certainly worth dying for. Sadly, what's
\nat stake in this prolonged impasse at the House, for most of the
\n113 million voters, is not even worth waking up for!<\/p>\n
The dispute over the division of House faction heads is
\nnothing more than a selfish battle to augment the individual
\npower of respective factions.<\/p>\n
Our legislators seem to forget the three most important facts
\nof life in this democratic polity: First, that in politics, just
\nas in life, there are successes and defeats. But a sense of
\naccomplishment can still be attained even in the latter. One does
\nnot jeopardize the whole process just because a particular party
\nlacks insufficient seats.<\/p>\n
Second, once again, as in life, politics is about compromise.
\nMature statesmen understand that legislations, regulations,
\npolicies or decrees, are never passed without some concessions.<\/p>\n
Third, and most important, is the fact that the current
\nbalance of power is the result of an election. It is a direct
\nreflection of the voting intent of the true stakeholders of this
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
Minority parties are a minority due to the simple reality that
\nthey did not receive sufficient support from the electorate.
\nUnless they can muster an expansive majority coalition they
\nshould not impose their will on the process. Just as the
\nPresident is currently learning to govern in a democratic state,
\nlegislators should learn how to be a good opposition.<\/p>\n
In many ways, we should not be surprised at this troubling
\nturn of events. It was anticipated that the House would be
\nfractious, with no party occupying more than 23 percent of the
\nseats.<\/p>\n
It does not help if our elected representatives are tokens of
\nthe party that ushered them in, and not the agents of the voting
\nmasses. Legislators do not have political independence and are
\nbound to the call of their party bosses.<\/p>\n
We also knew that there would be a sharp learning curve for
\nlegislators in this wholly new political environment. Mohammad
\nHatta, one of the founding fathers of the nation, in 1956 pointed
\nout that, for a nation that is not accomplished in the exercise
\nof democracy, \"some practice\" is required.<\/p>\n
However, we believe that three weeks is quite enough time for
\nHouse members to practice, and to learn to be recalcitrant
\npoliticians. It's now time for them to start practicing to be
\nlegislators.<\/p>",
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