It's not enough for democracy to succeed<\/p>\n
Ardimas Sasdi, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, University of Berkeley,
\nCalifornia<\/p>\n
Elections year is arriving in a few weeks, greeted with
\nanxiety by some and as a part of a necessary transition by
\nothers. A long-time scholar on Indonesia, Donald K. Emmerson of
\nthe Asia\/Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, shared
\nhis views recently on the country's struggle towards reform. The
\nfollowing is excerpts of the interview with the professor, who is
\nwriting What is Indonesia?:<\/p>\n
Question: Politicians, experts and the public differ on how
\nthey view Indonesia's achievements in the reform process. Your
\ncomment?<\/p>\n
Answer: Most prominent have been the political reforms: Four
\nconstitutional amendments, decentralization, laws on elections,
\nand so on. But how will these work out in practice? That is still
\nunclear. Economic reforms, by comparison, have lagged. And what
\nabout corruption? Perhaps the least progress has been made on
\nthat front.<\/p>\n
What are key areas that governments after Soeharto have yet to
\ndeal with in the transition process?<\/p>\n
One could make a list. But another response would be to note
\nthe gap between the laws already on the books and their
\nimplementation. It will not be easy. But doing so will be crucial
\nfor success in the transition process.<\/p>\n
How would the results of next year's elections affect the
\nprocess of reform?<\/p>\n
Optimistically, one can picture a healthy concentration of
\nlegitimacy at the top of the system, enabling decisive remedial
\npolicies. Pessimistically, one can picture a struggle between a
\npopularly mandated presidency and a popularly mandated
\nlegislature to the detriment of effective policies.<\/p>\n
I slant toward optimism. I doubt that the next president and
\nthe next DPR (legislature) will be eager to repeat the
\ncircumstances in which president Abdurrahman Wahid was removed
\nfrom office.<\/p>\n
Whatever happens, 2004 will be a \"Year of Voting Frequently\"
\n-- at least two elections (April, July) and possibly three (if a
\nsecond-round presidential vote in September becomes necessary).
\nLet's hope for the best.<\/p>\n
What are the basic conditions for Indonesia to succeed with
\nreform and to bring the country of 220 million people out of the
\ncurrent crises?<\/p>\n
When I was in Jakarta in August, the answer I heard most often
\nfrom Indonesians was: Leadership. Could there be a whiff of
\nnostalgia for Soeharto's leadership in that response?<\/p>\n
Among the multiple conditions for success in overcoming the
\ncurrent difficulties, one of the most important will be the
\nactual performance of democratically chosen governments,
\nincluding the one scheduled to emerge from next year's elections.<\/p>\n
It is, unfortunately, possible that democracy as a method can
\nsucceed but wind up discredited by the failure of resulting
\ngovernments to provide security, ensure justice, reduce poverty,
\nand so on. And there is a sense in which the competitive
\nelectoral process itself tends to raise public expectations as to
\nwhat can and should be done by government. But I am hopeful.<\/p>\n
Experience of governmental transition often suggests two
\noptions, either success and an emergence of democracy, or failure
\nand a return to a militaristic regime. How do you see this?<\/p>\n
There are not \"always two options\" in such transitions.
\nWithin the category \"democracy\" alone there are many types and
\ngradations. As for militarism, it is striking how much the image
\nand therefore potential leverage of the military has changed from
\nthe immediate post-Soeharto period.<\/p>\n
Could it be that by not intervening blatantly, army leaders
\nhave built up enough credit to allow for subtler forms of
\ninfluence? Not to mention the more security-conscious atmosphere
\nsince Sept. 11, 2001 and Oct. 12, 2002 (terrorist attacks in the
\nU.S. and in Bali respectively). Interesting, too, is the
\nincreasing mention of men with army backgrounds as possible
\npresidential candidates next year.<\/p>\n
But just as democracy is internally diverse, so should we
\navoid putting everyone who has had an army career in a single box
\nlabeled \"militarist.\" I live in California. The voters of my
\nstate just fired one governor and hired another. I may be naive,
\nbut I hope that as governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger will not treat
\ncomplex and intractable socioeconomic problems in the same way
\nthat the Terminator treated enemy robots!<\/p>\n
In any case, it is far too early to predict the outcome of any
\nof next year's national elections in either Indonesia or the U.S.
\nWhatever the result, let's hope it's for the better in both
\ncountries.<\/p>",
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