PDI-P needs new paradigm, tools for 2009 elections<\/p>\n
Mochtar Buchori, Jakarta<\/p>\n
While the official vote-count may still be ongoing, it is
\nalmost certain that the Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi pair
\nhas lost the presidential race, and Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono (SBY) will become the country's sixth president along
\nwith his running mate Jusuf Kalla as vice president.<\/p>\n
The contest for the national leadership for the 2004-2009 term
\nhas already been settled in a definitive way -- as with
\nMegawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).<\/p>\n
How will the party react to this new situation? It will take
\nsome time before PDI-P can take a united stand as a political
\nparty in facing the new challenges of the future.<\/p>\n
It will be better for the party if it concentrates from this
\npoint forth on preparing itself to perform better in the 2009
\ngeneral elections. There are many, many things to do.<\/p>\n
It would be very desirable if, among others, the party managed
\nto heal its many internal wounds by 2007.<\/p>\n
It should be noted in this respect that the next general
\nelections would probably take place under conditions different
\nfrom what we have today. The economic condition will be different
\n-- hopefully better, but it could also get worse. The electorate
\nwill be different, and we will have a public that is more mature
\npolitically. In addition, the security situation will most likely
\nbe different from the situation today.<\/p>\n
With all these probable changes, it would be very unwise for
\nthe PDI-P to enter the major political contest of 2009 without
\nrenewing its intellectual arsenal -- it would be utterly
\nimpossible to perform adequately in the next general elections
\nusing the same political paradigms and tools that proved
\ndisastrous this year.<\/p>\n
To compete and succeed in a changed political environment,
\nPDI-P will also have to change, and the party must meet certain
\nrequirements to change for the better.<\/p>\n
First, it must make an honest assessment concerning the main
\ncauses for its present defeat. It must ask itself why, within the
\nshort period from 1999 to 2004, it lost so much of its popular
\nappeal.<\/p>\n
Second, it must decide whether it really wants to become a
\ndemocratic party that is run in a genuinely democratic manner, or
\nwhether it wants to preserve its current character as a pseudo-
\ndemocratic party, run in a semi-autocratic manner.<\/p>\n
PDI-P has lost much of its popular appeal through the public
\nperception that it is a corrupt party. In the public eye,
\ncorruption appears rampant among PDI-P legislators, both at the
\nnational and local levels. In addition, the public believes that
\nmembers of the party's executive councils -- from the national
\nall the way down to the district levels -- are tainted by
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
The public verdict on the PDI-P is thus truly devastating: It
\nis a corrupt lot. The extent to which this allegation is true is
\ninconsequential; this is how the public perceives the party.<\/p>\n
It is thus interesting to note in this regard the speculation
\nmade by some observers -- that voters flocked to the Susilo camp,
\nnot so much because they were convinced that Susilo had the
\ncapability to bring about those changes for which the people had
\nbeen yearning, but more so because of public conviction that the
\nPDI-P under Megawati would not be able -- and probably would not
\never try -- to stop corruption.<\/p>\n
It is this very image that PDI-P must change. As long as this
\nperception persists, it will never regain the popular appeal it
\nenjoyed in 1999, no matter what it does.<\/p>\n
The third imperative is for the PDI-P to affirm itself as a
\nparty that upholds democracy as a political system.<\/p>\n
As a party member, I often have the impression that PDI-P is
\nembracing democracy in name only. The way it conducts its day-to-
\nday business -- insofar as the central executive council is
\nconcerned -- is far from democratic.<\/p>\n
What has been carried out in the name of the party has seldom
\nbeen the decision of the entire party leadership. Rather, they
\nhave been decisions taken by mighty personalities within the
\nparty. Thus, the ensuing impression is that those decisions were
\nmade to suit the interests of a few at the top.<\/p>\n
If PDI-P wants to win back the trust of its rank and file, it
\nmust change the style of its leadership. Furthermore, if it wants
\nto contribute to the democratization of this nation, it must
\nstart adopting democratic practices in its political conduct.
\nUnless this is done immediately, PDI-P will become a burden to
\nIndonesia's blossoming democracy, which has gained enough
\nstrength and can now be stopped only by brutal totalitarian
\nforce.<\/p>\n
Is the PDI-P ready to make this change? Under present
\nconditions, this is rather unlikely.<\/p>\n
There is still another argument for suggesting change within
\nthe party: It never discusses scenarios for the future. Neither
\nthe old guard nor the new guard shows sincere concern in this
\nmatter. Its interest seems firmly planted in the present, and the
\nparty seems to think that whatever comes in the future is the
\nproblem of the next generation -- it has nothing to do with the
\ncurrent generation. Furthermore, there is not the slightest
\nindication that the party leadership intends to change this
\ntradition.<\/p>\n
The consequence of this myopic view is that PDI-P has never
\nconducted, as far as I know, serious discussions concerning
\nIndonesia's role in the global dynamics of the present.<\/p>\n
For a political party as large as PDI-P, this is a serious
\nshortcoming. While young people from various non-political
\norganizations have begun to talk intelligently about global
\nissues that will affect Indonesia's future, PDI-P politicians
\nmumble incoherently about a vision and mission they do not even
\nunderstand.<\/p>\n
It is against this backdrop that more and more members have
\nstarted talking about the need for radical changes in the party
\nleadership. The argument is that those responsible for the
\npresent disaster must be held accountable.<\/p>\n
So whither is PDI-P heading?<\/p>\n
The writer is a House of Representatives legislator of the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pdi-p-needs-new-paradigm-tools-for-2009-elections-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}