Immature political elite slows reforms<\/p>\n
Conflict-ridden leadership, like that which can be seen in the
\nIndonesian Legal Aid Foundation, is a common phenomenon in
\nIndonesia. Amir Santoso takes a look at the issue.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The rift-ridden election of the chairman for the
\nIndonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) increased my belief that
\nIndonesia remains a long way from democracy. The internal rift in
\nthis organization typifies the conflicts reflecting a lack of
\nmaturity among the leadership elite found in many social and
\npolitical organizations.<\/p>\n
One of the pre-conditions for democracy is maturity and
\nrespect for organizational procedures and the rights of other
\npeople. I think that many Indonesians today view democracy as
\nmeaning a fight for rights and demands. Clearly, the immaturity
\nof many of the political elite is the prime cause of the nation's
\nsomewhat stunted democratization process.<\/p>\n
I have been quoted by a number of newspapers, in response to a
\nremark made by a German professor from Humboldt University, as
\nsaying recently that the democratization process in Indonesia has
\nbeen smooth. The professor had said that the democratization
\nprocess in Indonesia was not running smoothly due to the small
\nnumber of people in the middle class. I shared the professor's
\nopinion, but said there has been a remarkable increase in the
\nnumber of people in the middle class over the last 30 years.
\nAlso, the situation today is much better than that in the 1970s
\nand 1980s. I mean there has been step by step progress in the
\ndemocratization process.<\/p>\n
The number of secondary school and university graduates has
\nincreased significantly although it is still small compared to
\nthe total population. In terms of political position, the
\nmajority of the nation's top intellectuals have been absorbed
\ninto the bureaucracy, thereby compromising their political
\nindependence. Economic growth has resulted in a substantial
\nnumber of businessmen but their number is insufficient to
\nconstitute a middle class in the business sector.<\/p>\n
At the same time many of the new businessmen are categorized
\nas erzat and crony capitalists in the sense that the continuation
\nof their activities is dependent on government projects and
\nfacilities. This makes them vulnerable to government
\nintervention. But I believe that the number of middle class
\npeople in all sector who have political freedom will continue to
\nincrease because no power can hamper the expansion of the middle
\nclass.<\/p>\n
A weak middle class is reflected in the fact that our society
\nis not egalitarian, but is, instead, a mainstay of feudalism. The
\nposition of bapak (father) and government, under such a feudal
\nculture, is strong. Thus, the heavy dependence of society,
\nincluding social and political organizations, on the government
\nreflects this situation. The common practice among political
\norganizations of asking blessing from the government for their
\nactivities does not arise solely from the error of the
\nbureaucracy. It occurs mostly because of the feudalistic
\ncharacter of society itself.<\/p>\n
Another reason why the democratization process does not
\nproceed as smoothly as it should is because of the existence of
\npoverty among such a large segment of society. Democracy cannot
\ngrow healthily when the majority of the population still lives in
\npoverty. For the poor, the important thing is not democracy, or
\nfreedom of speech, but how to survive the day.<\/p>\n
A demonstration by poverty stricken laborers does not have
\ndemocracy as its immediate aim, but rather focuses more on
\ndemands for better conditions in the workplace. Change of
\ngovernment may occur through the demonstration, but this offers
\nno guarantee that democracy will emerge. The move toward
\ndemocracy will grind to a halt if there is no political
\neducation, nor the opportunity to have a true life experience
\nwith democracy. An educational system that puts too much emphasis
\non submission and that curtails critical thinking will create
\nonly robots.<\/p>\n
The last reason for the slow growth of democracy in Indonesia
\nis the lack of experience which is closely connected with an
\nimmature attitude. Without any experience in democracy everyone
\nwill behave in a less than democratic manner. The leadership
\nrivalry in many organizations, such as the Nahdlatul Ulama, the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation
\nand the Satya Wacana University, is illustrative of the above
\nfactors existing among people who speak of democracy every day.<\/p>\n
These conflicts are not caused by government intervention as
\nmany believe, but are mainly due to the undemocratic attitude of
\nthe elite of the those organizations.<\/p>\n
The conflicts have always started from charges of cheating
\nduring the leadership election processes in the parties,
\norganizations and universities.<\/p>\n
These accusations were made by those who lost in the contests.
\nThis only goes to show that an undemocratic attitude is quite
\nwidespread in Indonesia, especially among leaders of
\norganizations.<\/p>\n
Hence, I don't share the idea of those who believe that
\ndemocracy will only be developed in Indonesia through
\nrestructuring of the political system, or even by changing the
\npolitical system.<\/p>\n
I believe that democracy will be developed only through
\npolitical education and the opportunity to practice democratic
\nprocedures in everyday life.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer in political science at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia and Jayabaya University.<\/p>",
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