Political disillusionment shadows presidential election<\/p>\n
A continuing coalition of the \"axis force\" and the Golkar
\nParty will have dire consequences for the nation, warned Goenawan
\nMohamad, former chief editor of Tempo magazine, in an interview
\nwith The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Question: How do you see the emergence of Amien Rais as leader
\nof the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)?<\/p>\n
Answer: I think it is good news because he has an unswerving
\ncommitment to democracy and he is well known both nationally and
\ninternationally. Seen from this aspect, we have to feel
\nfortunate. At the helm, Amien will be able to bring the stature
\nof MPR up from a longtime low.<\/p>\n
Q: Critics say Amien grabbed the top legislative job thanks to
\nGolkar and the axis force...<\/p>\n
A: It seems to me that Golkar has been forgiven by all the people
\nin this postelection session of the Assembly. And not only
\nGolkar, even the Indonesian Military. The line between the old
\n(status quo) and the new (reformist) elements has become blurred.<\/p>\n
Q: Could you give us some examples.<\/p>\n
A: Look at figures like Ginanjar (Kartasasmita, until recently
\ncoordinating minister for economy, finance and industry) of
\nGolkar who won the support of Megawati (Soekarnoputri, leader of
\nthe Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle\/PDI Perjuangan) as a
\nregional group representative. Or Syarwan Hamid (until recently
\nminister of home affairs), who was alleged to have orchestrated
\nthe July 27, 1996 attack on PDI Perjuangan's headquarters in
\nJakarta, won PDI Perjuangan's support as a regional group
\nrepresentative from Riau. And Amien Rais who accepted Fuad
\nBawazier (former minister of finance) as regional representative
\neven though he is closely associated with the Cendana (Soeharto)
\nfamily. Thus, politics truly makes strange bedfellows.<\/p>\n
Actually, it is a normal thing in politics for dirty dealings.
\nThe question is how far will it be cleaned, eliminated and not
\nturned into a habit. But that is sometimes the case in
\nrealpolitik. Anyway, for whoever supports Amien Rais, he really
\ndeserves to be MPR chairman.<\/p>\n
Q: What about the political configuration taking shape behind
\nAmien's election?<\/p>\n
A: The problem is that the victory of the axis force plus Golkar
\nin supporting Amien Rais and also the MPR rulings has alienated
\nPDI Perjuangan and the National Awakening Party (PKB). This will
\nhave a consequence that should concern us all. What I am very
\nconcerned about is the possibility of Gus Dur (founder of PKB)
\nbecoming president through the support of the axis force and
\nGolkar. This would mean that the biggest vote getter in the June
\n7 elections would be alienated from the existing body politic.
\nAnd it is difficult to say that this is in line with a sense of
\njustice.<\/p>\n
Q: And it will give rise to...<\/p>\n
A: The second point is that the people will be disillusioned
\nabout the elections because their votes will be reduced to
\nnothing. It is true that the root of the problem is the 1945
\nConstitution (in which a president is not directly elected by the
\npeople). (President) Habibie has suggested that it be changed,
\nand we should appreciate his suggestion, but the fact remains
\nthat millions of people will be disappointed and we should never
\nunderestimate it.<\/p>\n
Third, post-MPR politics would be colored by a rift between
\nIslam and non-Islam. Worse still, there would be no check-and-
\nbalance system because the axis force and Golkar would crush the
\nrest like a bulldozer. No one can check them. Therefore, I really
\nhope Megawati will emerge as our next president, if need be, with
\nthe help of Golkar and TNI.<\/p>\n
Q: You must be a Megawati supporter...<\/p>\n
A: Personally I don't like to vote for her because she is not my
\nideal type of a head of state, but more than 35 million people
\nsupported her. If she is not elected she will remain a mystical
\nfigure... symbol of a victim. For a democratic society, you must
\nhave a real leader, not a mystical leader. Thus, to give Megawati
\na chance to turn herself from a mystical leader into a real
\nleader, she has to lead the country.<\/p>\n
Q: What would happen to Gus Dur then?<\/p>\n
A: I appeal to MPR members to consider this and especially Gus
\nDur, for he has a commitment to Megawati. Amien's support for her
\nand also that of the others depend on Gus Dur. If Gus Dur
\nrefuses, it will never happen. Hence, the key lies in the
\nwillingness of Gus Dur to be aware of this. I am fully convinced
\nthat if Gus Dur did not become the president he would still
\nremain a great man, the guru bangsa (nation's mentor), and we who
\nremain outside the legislature and the bureaucracy need him more
\nthan this political process needs him. So, please, Gus Dur, stay
\nwith us and don't ever go into the government. Furthermore,
\nMegawati will be a president in a completely new MPR and DPR with
\nall the new decrees. They will limit not only her presidential
\nterm but she will also be subjected to more democratic controls,
\nso why don't we give her a chance?<\/p>\n
Q: This has to do with the question of loyalty...<\/p>\n
A: There is an old saying, please put less loyalty toward the
\nparty than loyalty to the country. It is an old saying but it is
\nvery relevant today. I support Amien Rais as MPR chairman because
\nof a broader reason, that is for the betterment of the
\nmotherland. I don't wish to have a political system the National
\nMandate Party (PAN, which Amien heads) and its (Muslim group)
\nallies will have dominant power. We went through a similar bitter
\nexperience in the past where there was no balance of power. On
\ntop of this, we will still have very serious problems like in
\nAceh, Irian Jaya and the economic crisis, as well as the economic
\nrepercussions of those problems.<\/p>\n
Q: Could you give an example?<\/p>\n
A: For instance, if Aceh and Irian Jaya opted to separate from
\nIndonesia, we would have problems with our resources, such as in
\nArun (Aceh), Freeport (Irian). We must have a government that can
\nhold us together to overcome all these problems, so power-sharing
\nis crucial albeit without eliminating the idea for loyal
\nopposition.<\/p>\n
Q: If Megawati is not elected president, what will happen?<\/p>\n
A: Riots are not what we are afraid of, no, but disillusionment
\nover the democratic political process. Second, the alienation of
\na huge part of the body politic. This alienation is not a good
\nseed since it is divisive. This factor combined with the problems
\nfacing the nation amount to a step into suicidal actions.<\/p>\n
Q: Where do you see the axis force in this political game?<\/p>\n
A: Actually, the axis force will not be there without two
\nopposing ends. The axis force came into being by default because
\nthere was no clear line between the status quo and the reformist
\nforces. If there was a clear line, there would not be an axis
\nforce.<\/p>\n
Q: How come the line is blurred?<\/p>\n
A: First, because the reformist parties do not have a common
\nplatform. On the question of East Timor, for instance, PDI
\nPerjuangan is closer to Golkar, which is a status quo force, than
\nPAN. The latter is closer to the Democratic People's Party (PRD)
\nwhich is considered too radical. Second, there has been a lack in
\nflexibility in forming alliances (between the reformist parties).
\nPDI Perjuangan, for example, has been lobbied by PAN and PKB for
\na long time to form a common reform movement, but it did not give
\na satisfactory response. A number of joint actions failed to
\nmaterialize. It is true that PDI Perjuangan has a problem
\nreaching out.<\/p>\n
Q: Why is that?<\/p>\n
A: Some say that PDI Perjuangan is suffering from some kind of
\n\"Islam-phobia\" as exemplified by people like (Maj. Gen.) Theo
\nSyafei (the party's vice chairman) which has inhibited PDI
\nPerjuangan from reaching out. They only rely on PKB but, of
\ncourse, the party does not include all Muslim constituencies.<\/p>\n
Q: Wasn't Amien the one who actually managed to reach out?<\/p>\n
A: Hats off to Amien Rais since he could easily have become a
\npresident had he opted to chair a truly Islamic party rather than
\nthe more inclusive PAN for the sake of a more pluralistic
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
I really hope that his sacrifice for the motherland will be
\nconsistent. He should be careful not to fall into temptation.<\/p>\n
Also, what I really appreciate from Amien, and hopefully he
\nwill still remember this, is when he said that as a leader of a
\nparty that won a mere 7 percent of the vote \"I was not eligible
\nto nominate myself (as a presidential candidate)\". The
\nconsequence of this statement is that the (leader of) the party
\nthat won the bigger share of the vote is eligible to become
\npresident.<\/p>\n
Q: There are many who accuse Amien Rais of throwing Megawati into
\nthe fold of TNI...<\/p>\n
A: I don't buy this accusation because the initiative (for
\nworking together) has always come from PAN. There is a saying,
\nwhich I think is true, that history is knocking at the door for
\ngreat people to emerge, but those who show up are small
\npersonalities. We are not fortunate enough to have a Mandela.
\nThirty-two years of repression, and we still fail to have a
\nleader who really can become bigger than his or her party, bigger
\nthan his or her own race and who has a good organization and who
\nknows when to leave power. What kind of people we are...<\/p>\n
Q: Isn't it a challenge?<\/p>\n
A: It is a challenge for people like Gus Dur and Amien Rais, and
\nperhaps also Megawati, that if they fail to become a Mandela, at
\nleast they will be magnanimous enough to understand that what is
\nat stake is the future of the country.<\/p>\n
Q: What about the issue of money politics, can't it also serve as
\nan obstacle to select a good leader?<\/p>\n
A: This is a serious malady which is a legacy from the New Order
\nbecause there is the principle that everybody can be bought. The
\nperpetrators will keep on buying (people) in the absence of
\npublic pressure. They don't have loyalty and are unprincipled.
\nThey have a cynical perception of people, that everybody has a
\nprice, but hasn't our experience shown that people can resist?
\nPeople like Budiman Sudjatmiko (leader of PRD) and Sri Bintang
\nPamungkas (leader of the Indonesian Democratic Union Party)
\npreferred to be jailed rather than bought. It proves that
\nIndonesian people are not that bad. True, there are many who are
\nstill bad. Now it depends on how we will overcome this problem:
\nwe have to correct the system, that is to have an open voting
\nsystem (for the presidential election).<\/p>\n
Q: Are you for an open presidential election system?<\/p>\n
A: There are some, like Faisal Basri (PAN secretary-general) who
\nsay that a closed system is better because those who took bribes
\ncould still vote for another candidate without being found out.
\nBut I think an open system is better because one (who has
\nreceived a bribe) has to be responsible to the bribe giver and
\nunder a closed system they could rescind their responsibilities.
\nUnder an open system, the people will know who voted for whom and
\nthey should explain to the people why they chose Habibie or
\nMegawati or whoever.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you think about the political behavior of the military
\nso far?<\/p>\n
A: They have been behaving very well, we should appreciate that.
\nThey are neutral but I am tempted to think that should Megawati
\nbe pushed to the wall they would support her, again, for
\nthe sake of the nation. It would not be easy for PDI Perjuangan
\nbut everybody has a drawback. Only then should the military go
\n(leave politics). Their existence (in the legislature) is
\nirreversible. They even have more seats than PAN. As it is
\nirreversible, let's make the best of it. The military should make
\na good departure after all their terrible exits in East Timor,
\nAceh and elsewhere. At least in the legislature it must be a good
\nexit. (hbk)<\/p>",
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