PDI rifts shows up lack of democracy<\/p>\n
By Asip Agus Hasani<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Cornelis LAY, a political scientist based at
\nGadjah Mada University's Inter-University Center, once described
\nIndonesian politics as having a \"barbarian\" face because of the
\never-decreasing opportunities made available to common people to
\nexpress their opinions.<\/p>\n
He believes, however, that in the internal conflict currently
\nravaging the minority Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), ordinary
\npeople have managed to carve out a niche and be more involved
\nthan usual because they identify with ousted leader Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
\"Even inhabitants of the Code riverbank here have an opinion
\non the PDI conflict,\" he told The Jakarta Post recently.<\/p>\n
Cornelis is known for his astute analyses of Indonesian
\npolitical parties' success in promoting democratization. When
\nspeaking about the dominant organization, Golkar, and the Moslem-
\nbased United Development Party (PPP), Cornelis' remarks are
\nusually thorough and to the point.<\/p>\n
But when he turns to the prolonged PDI conflict, it not only
\nquickly becomes apparent his sympathy lies with Megawati but that
\nhe also sees many of the party's problems stemming from the
\ngovernment's stance and the chairman it backed, Soerjadi.<\/p>\n
\"Trust me. Government intervention in PDI will continue after
\nthe 1997 general election. The election will not (be a great
\nsuccess) for PDI because Soerjadi does not play a determining
\nrole within the party.\"<\/p>\n
In a recent article he wrote for the Kompas daily, Cornelis
\ncalled the \"PDI tragedy\" a \"reflection of the grimness of
\nIndonesian politics values.\" The makeup of the established
\npolitical order indicated a massive decline in the nation's
\npolitical ethics, he said.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesian politics had a barbarian face because of
\nthe domination of certain political interests groups seeking
\ninstant gratification from short term objectives.<\/p>\n
In the PDI conflict, \"we are witnessing how the use of common
\nsense in our political management is declining. There's not one
\nincident in the PDI dispute that can be comprehended clearly,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
People's quest for knowledge and understanding of what caused
\nthe prolonged conflict and why the government is meddling in the
\nminority party is also being blocked. \"Nobody is really learning
\nanything about the issue except from speculation and rumors,\" he
\nasserted.<\/p>\n
Cornelis told the Post that matters in Indonesia are mostly
\nviewed from the perspective of the state. Members of the public
\nare not usually given the opportunity to present their own views.<\/p>\n
The PDI case, however, has been different. Despite evidence of
\noverwhelming government pressure to control the party, \"people
\nstill managed to create a niche for themselves from which they
\ncould express their opinions.\"<\/p>\n
As an example he said that even slum and riverbank dwellers in
\nYogyakarta are emotionally involved in the rivalry between
\nSoerjadi and Megawati.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesian politics can be monitored from the street, from
\nthe talk of pedicab and taxi drivers, from the narrow alleys of
\ncrowded urban slum areas, and from people marginalized from the
\ncentralized state power.<\/p>\n
\"Politically speaking they are never given the opportunity to
\nexpress themselves; they are always there to be manipulated and
\nmobilized by the powerful. But all of a sudden, they have
\ndiscovered their fate is similar to PDI's so they have identified
\nwith the party.\"<\/p>\n
He said the PDI conflict has involved not only the common
\npeople but also the upper layers of society. \"Everybody, from the
\nPresident down to neighborhood chiefs, has at one time or another
\nbeen involved in mediating in the PDI conflict. The energy
\nexpended by the state (in handling the PDI conflict) has been
\ntremendous!\"<\/p>\n
Qualifications<\/p>\n
Cornelis is well qualified to discuss PDI. His undergraduate
\nthesis was titled \"The development of PDI from 1973 to 1986 and
\nits prospects as a sociopolitical force.\"<\/p>\n
He obtained a near perfect grade of 3.97 from Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity's School of Social and Political Sciences and was
\nnamed the best graduate of 1987.<\/p>\n
He spent 23 months of 1986 and 1987 researching his thesis.
\nFor it he met and interviewed 40 prominent PDI figures, including
\nthe party's founders, to learn their views of its problems.<\/p>\n
It was through these contacts, he admitted, that a feeling of
\ninvolvement in the party developed.<\/p>\n
\"I became attracted to the PDI figures who had held their own
\ndespite facing great pressures from the government,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Afterward, Cornelis felt he had forged a special affinity for
\nPDI to the extent that some colleagues doubted his objectivity in
\nhis assessment of the party. \"Perhaps I could not be neutral. I
\nspoke more for PDI than about it,\" he admitted.<\/p>\n
Poverty<\/p>\n
Cornelis said he once wanted to become a journalist.<\/p>\n
\"I thought it would be a suitable vocation for a person like
\nme as I would be able to travel a lot,\" said the jeans-clad
\nlecturer. On graduating however he was offered a lecturing
\nposition.<\/p>\n
\"I have gradually started to enjoy my work as a lecturer. It
\nallow me to continue to think,\" the 37-year old bachelor from
\nSabu Island, East Nusa Tenggara, said.<\/p>\n
On campus, Cornelis is called either Cony or Ney, and is known
\nto be very close to his students. In fact, he still lives in a
\ndormitory for East Nusa Tenggara students.<\/p>\n
Fellow lecturers have suggested he should look for
\naccommodation elsewhere, away from his students, in order to
\nmaintain his more senior status. \"Such an outlook complicates
\nmatters. It should not be necessary for lecturers to live
\nseparately from students,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Cornelis obtained his master's degree at St. Mary's
\nUniversity, Halifax, Canada in 1991. For that his thesis was
\ntitled: \"Development in Indonesia: A Study of Regional
\nDisparities.\"<\/p>\n
He admits to being close to people at the grassroots level.
\nThis is because he was born and raised in a poor family in an
\nequally poor environment. \"My friends did not study beyond junior
\nhigh school.\"<\/p>\n
Cornelis' parents were traders on the fringe of a market in
\nSabu, and had to support five children including Cornelis, their
\nfourth child. They paid hardly any attention to their children's
\neducation.<\/p>\n
Cornelis had to turn his arm to many things to stay in school.
\n\"I often slept under the eaves of shops when I was at elementary
\nschool,\" he recalled. On holidays and Sundays he used to work as
\na construction laborer.<\/p>\n
This early experience with poverty has made him feel more
\nsympathetic for people at the grassroots. It also makes him
\nespecially attentive to problems in grassroots society.<\/p>",
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