Democracy, power brokers in mike-happy MPR<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): When the newly sworn in members of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR) held a plenary session on Oct. 2 to
\nvote for changes to its internal rules, I was watching from the
\nAssembly hall's balcony with excitement.<\/p>\n
This was a moment I had longed to witness. An actual
\ndemocratic process was happening in this \"People's building\".<\/p>\n
It had a similar novel feeling, like when I got to write \"the
\nformer president Soeharto\" for the first time last year after
\nhaving grown up under the impression that there would only be one
\nIndonesian president in my lifetime.<\/p>\n
The new MPR members were brave. They were outspoken, they were
\ncritical, they were skeptical, they were ... well, obnoxious.<\/p>\n
It was amusing initially. But as the night edged toward
\nmorning, and as petty debates and childish remarks got in the way
\nof accomplishing the main task -- and editors back at the office
\nwere getting restless over meeting deadlines -- my amusement
\ngradually turned into annoyance.<\/p>\n
Below me, a sea of over 600 adults bringing various agenda,
\nled by two inexperienced acting speakers, could not even agree on
\none thing: how to vote. In the balcony, fellow journalists -- the
\nremaining few mostly from TV, afternoon papers, magazines and
\nwire services -- seemed to share the same frustrations.<\/p>\n
We sighed each time the microphone-happy MPR members tried to
\noutpace each other to seize another opportunity of
\n\"interruption\". We griped at the speakers' indecisiveness and
\ninability to maintain order and were irate at members who used
\ntheir speaking privilege so liberally to voice irrelevant views.<\/p>\n
We must have secretly wished we could gavel the MPR members to
\nsilence, or join the flood of interruptions to tell them to stop
\ntalking and start listening.<\/p>\n
This, of course, is a sign of democracy. I understand that in
\nsome countries it gets even worse. Verbal battles are not enough
\nas parliament members often engage in physical aggression.<\/p>\n
But then I remembered that just a day before, the unpopular
\nPresident B.J. Habibie was booed by these very people as the
\never-smiling, unsuspecting President strode down the aisle to
\nattend their inauguration. One only has to go to the nearest high
\nschool to feel what it's like to be among the rowdy members that
\nday.<\/p>\n
Later, when the Assembly voted for the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) speaker on early Wednesday morning, two
\npeople cast votes for presidential hopeful Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nand the Crescent Star Party chairman, Yusril Ihza Mahendra --
\nneither of whom belonged to the race.<\/p>\n
While this might capture the attention of the lethargic House
\nmembers at 2:30 a.m., it was an insult to the institution and the
\npeople it represented. Either the two voters were fanatics or
\nthey simply mistook the supreme legislative body as a game venue.<\/p>\n
Our new MPR members are no doubt capable of channeling the
\naspirations of their constituents and their parties. But their
\npoor show of manner and refusal to bow to order made them
\nsusceptible to mockery, instead of earning them fresh respect
\nfrom the people watching them live from their living room. They
\ngave a whole new meaning to the request: \"interruption, plenary
\nchief\".<\/p>\n
But still, I would not have had it any other way.<\/p>\n
Though the General Session at times dragged on painfully,
\nprogress was made -- and every time that happened my skepticism
\ngave way to my impressionable, giddy self.<\/p>\n
That chaotic first election, a mechanism nonexistent in
\nSoeharto's MPR, turned out to be just a bad case of
\nunpreparedness. The next day the Assembly members were on their
\nbest manners when they lined up to vote for their chairman.<\/p>\n
Credit should also go out to a handful of seasoned
\npoliticians, the masters of the art of lobbying, who were in on
\nendless backroom deals, exchanging favors and securing
\nconcessions, while fellow MPR members spent their free time
\nwatching HBO in hotel rooms or frequenting karaoke bars.<\/p>\n
These power brokers are the ones who, in a way, manipulate our
\nsimple concept of democracy and turn it into a complex, entangled
\nand unpredictable political web. They are also the ones
\nresponsible for helping turn rival party leaders to literally
\nshare powers.<\/p>\n
I actually took pleasure in watching the politicians toil for
\nhours in meetings, coaxing or bluffing rival partisans for a
\ncompromise -- their bloodshot eyes showing sleep deprivation and
\ntheir faces paling as vote results were counted -- before finally
\nsecuring their desired results.<\/p>\n
After this exhilarating experience, I doubt that any
\nIndonesian would ever want to see a president handpick MPR
\nleaders as was the past practice.<\/p>\n
From now on, it should always be the other way around.<\/p>\n
-- Devi M. Asmarani<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/democracy-power-brokers-in-mike-happy-mpr-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }