Mistakes part of democracy process<\/p>\n
Some members of the tiny Indonesian Democratic Party have
\nproposed that the party's chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri, run
\nfor president. Political scientist J. Soedjati Djiwandono
\nevaluates the suggestion, which is unprecedented in the history
\nof the New Order government.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): What follows is not to oppose or support the
\nunofficial nomination of Megawati as a presidential candidate.
\nNor is it to assess the merits and demerits of the courageous
\nmove by the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).<\/p>\n
I do, however, dismiss her critics, who oppose the move on
\ngrounds of plain prejudice, pettifoggery as well as legalistic
\nand procedural squabbles. I also disregard the reckless remark
\nthat the move is \"bad for democracy\", and that no one should
\ncomment on the matter because Megawati herself has not made her
\nown reaction public.<\/p>\n
The nomination is but an expression of certain members of the
\nPDI and its supporters.<\/p>\n
Irrespective of her chances of success, such a move would be
\ngood for the development of democracy in Indonesia. It could
\nserve as the beginning of a tradition by which a political party
\ncommits to nominating a candidate for president (perhaps also for
\nvice president) well before the general election. This way the
\nnumber of votes received by any one party at election time would
\nnot result in a landslide and be given carte blanche, as has been
\nthe case thus far.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, it is ironic that a party should nominate a
\ncandidate from another party, even before the candidate's own
\nparty does so. This is what happened in the last session of the
\nPeople's General Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
Democracy demands a certain attitude. The nomination of a
\ncandidate to challenge another candidate, even if he or she is
\nthe incumbent, may well be a challenge to a certain cultural
\nvalues here, where it is considered inelegant, disconcerting and
\nperhaps even \"unethical\" to do so.<\/p>\n
I hope we can move one step further and have one candidate not
\nonly respond to a nomination, but actually \"run\" for president
\nand vigorously campaign for it. This will allow the candidate to
\nprove his or her personal commitment, dedication, dreams and
\naspirations for the welfare of the people, not simply because he
\nor she is ready \"as long as the people so wish\".<\/p>\n
I do not believe that all traditions and cultural values
\ndeserve to be preserved. We need to be selective and should not
\nhesitate to abandon those which stand in the way of human
\nprogress. I loath the tendency on the part of those in power to
\nabuse or manipulate what they call \"national identity\" or
\ntraditional \"cultural values\", which they themselves define,
\nthough vaguely, and thus they alone pretend to understand,
\nprimarily to justify and maintain their power.<\/p>\n
Surely any change entails a certain degree of uncertainty. But
\nnobody is perfect. Nor is anybody better or worse than others in
\nall respects. Quite often the office makes, or at least helps
\nmake, the man or woman.<\/p>\n
Democracy is a learning process. For a country like Indonesia,
\nwith little or no democratic tradition of its own, it is likely
\nto be a process of trial and error and, to some extent, of
\nemulation. There is basically nothing wrong with that. Part of
\nthe beauty of democracy is that it also provides an opportunity
\nfor the rectification of mistakes.<\/p>\n
Some people dream of something, or hear the dreams of others
\nand ask, \"Why?\". Born an optimist, I would prefer to dream of
\nsomething, and ask myself, \"Why not?\"<\/p>\n
The writer is a member of the Board of Directors at the Centre
\nfor Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mistakes-part-of-democracy-process-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}