Miscalculation shapes political alliance<\/p>\n
The joint election campaign between supporters of the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) and those of Megawati, the ousted leader
\nof the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), has gained people's
\nattention. Sociologist Loekman Soetrisno of Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity shares his view on this occurrence with The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Question: How do you see this new development?<\/p>\n
Answer: It shows that the government has been very wrong in
\njudging Megawati. She had been seen as an obstacle for the
\ndominant Golkar in the election, which led to her being ousted
\nfrom PDI by a government-backed congress in Medan, North Sumatra,
\nlast year. It turned out to be a miscalculated step.<\/p>\n
You see, Soerjadi (the government-recognized PDI leader) has
\nnothing. It's in fact Megawati who has the power over PDI
\nsupporters. The ousting has even invited people to heap their
\nsympathy on her.<\/p>\n
She is smart. With all the support she has, she asked her
\nsupporters not to join the campaign. Apparently she has been
\nthinking of entrusting her supporters' votes to PPP. The
\nalliance, therefore, is shaping a stronger opponent against
\nGolkar. That's why I say this is a government mishap.<\/p>\n
Q: What if the mishap never occurred?<\/p>\n
A: Had Megawati been treated fairly, such a thing would have
\nprobably never happened. The explanation is simple.<\/p>\n
It's quite obvious that PDI's veteran supporters, such as
\nformer members of the Indonesian National Party (before being
\nmerged into PDI), will never give their votes to Golkar which
\nthey blame for the present PDI internal leadership fiasco. They
\nwon't give them to Soerjadi's PDI either, because they see it's
\nworthless to do so. At the same time, they have no intention to
\nboycott the election.<\/p>\n
As a result, PPP emerges as the only choice for them. They see
\nit as the best choice among the worsts. For them, anything will
\ndo as long as it's not Golkar or government-backed PDI. There
\nwill be, therefore, only two parties which will be competing for
\nthe votes. This is dangerous.<\/p>\n
Q: Why is that?<\/p>\n
A: People, including foreign observers, will question the
\nvalidity of the election, and especially the existence of
\nSoerjadi's PDI as a contestant. It's quite obvious that it will
\nget an insignificant amount of votes.<\/p>\n
Yet, what concerns me more is the possibility that PDI will
\ndisappear for good. Soerjadi's PDI has no roots at all. There is
\nno way for it to gain significant votes.<\/p>\n
Q: But, it's alright to have only two political parties, isn't
\nit?<\/p>\n
A: Of course it's alright. The question is, do we want it. If we
\ndo, PPP then should transform itself into a more independent and
\nopen party, instead of a Moslem-oriented one. That will enable it
\nto attract non-Moslem voters as well.<\/p>\n
Q: Soerjadi's party could only make an alliance with either
\nGolkar or PPP, couldn't it?<\/p>\n
A: I don't think Soerjadi will be willing to do that. It's
\nimpossible for him to do so. He will stubbornly maintain his
\nexistence.<\/p>\n
Q: What's the best way for him to go about it then?<\/p>\n
A: Soerjadi certainly has to self-correct himself through
\nintrospection. He should restore Megawati's leadership. He can do
\nthat after the election. He has to do it for the sake of a
\nhealthy political life in the future for the three groups. It's
\nthe only thing he could do.<\/p>\n
Q: What about those supporters who currently back him?<\/p>\n
A: It's certainly them who should be the most ashamed. They prove
\nthey have no power in developing Soerjadi's PDI. They have taken
\nthe wrong step. As I've been saying for a long time, there is no
\nneed to launch political engineering. It's very childish.<\/p>\n
Q: What will happen if the alliance wins a significant amount of
\nvotes?<\/p>\n
A: The alliance will continue to develop. People like Mudrick
\nSangidoe (PPP's outspoken Surakarta branch chief), I think, will
\ntry harder to make PPP a more open party.<\/p>\n
Q: There has also been an interesting development in Bali where
\nHindu leaders are considering to issue a statement which allows
\nHindus to vote for PPP...<\/p>\n
A: It's another development. As you see, Bali is one of PDI's
\nstrongholds. Again, it's the way the government handles Megawati
\nwhich makes these things happen. The government has
\nunderestimated her. Megawati is, in fact, very powerful. People's
\nloyalty toward her, and her father Sukarno (the first president),
\nis still very strong.<\/p>\n
As I always say, a good government never creates ammunition to
\nshoot itself or a hero to challenge its own leader. Now Megawati
\nhas become a heroine. Even without doing anything, she is
\nextremely powerful.<\/p>\n
Q: Could such a development cause vote rigging in an election
\ntightly controlled by the government?<\/p>\n
A: It could. The question is, can it be done. The international
\ncommunity will not tolerate such a thing, and neither will other
\nparties' poll-monitoring officials. You see, PPP's cadres are
\nmore courageous nowadays. They won't let such a thing happen.<\/p>\n
Besides, people are also getting more critical. They can no
\nlonger stand political deception. This is the line of thinking
\nwhich explains the background of the incident in the Central Java
\ntown of Pekalongan recently, where people threw stones at civil
\nservants' homes. (swa)<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/miscalculation-shapes-political-alliance-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }