Rational party system required<\/p>\n
By Aleksius Jemadu<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): One of the main goals of political reform is to
\nmake Indonesia's party system more representative and democratic.<\/p>\n
A political party system can be considered democratic if the
\nexisting parties reflect the diversity of political aspirations
\nin society and have sufficient autonomy to influence and control
\nthe governing process.<\/p>\n
The present political party system, which consists of three
\npolitical parties: Golkar, the functional group; the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP); and the Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI), is widely considered undemocratic because the political
\nparties are the result of political engineering by the ruling
\npower. It is no wonder that, after Soeharto's resignation, these
\nparties have tended to disintegrate and there is now a growing
\ndemand for the establishment of new political parties.<\/p>\n
It should be noted, however, that any party system should be
\nbased on a clear and widely acceptable rationality. The
\nrationality of the present party system can no longer be
\nmaintained if we want to build a democratic state.<\/p>\n
During Soeharto's era, the ruling Golkar became an effective
\ninstrument to win politically engineered elections in order to
\ngive formal legitimacy to Soeharto's government.<\/p>\n
As regards to the other two political parties, PPP and PDI,
\nthere was always a systematic effort by the ruling power to
\ndivide and rule them by manipulating their vulnerability to
\ninternal conflict.<\/p>\n
Thus, when Megawati Soekarnoputri managed to attract
\nincreasingly popular support for PDI, Soeharto's government
\nimmediately endorsed an extraordinary congress in Medan just to
\ntopple her and appoint Soerjadi as the new PDI chairman.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, most of the government officials who helped
\nSoeharto in such a dirty game still hold prominent positions in
\nthe present reform Cabinet.<\/p>\n
This is precisely why Indonesia needs a new rationality on
\nwhich a more democratic party system can be based. Before
\nformulating such rationality, it is necessary to have a clear
\nview on the national political goals in the short and long terms.<\/p>\n
All Indonesians would agree that the party system should
\nreflect the plurality of Indonesian people. But democracy should
\nnever be promoted just for the sake of democracy. It is not an
\nend in itself. It is only an institutional mechanism or procedure
\nto achieve other national goals like economic welfare and social
\njustice.<\/p>\n
Therefore, our eagerness to establish a democratic party
\nsystem should never sacrifice the need to have sufficient
\npolitical stability so that foreign investors do not hesitate to
\ninvest here.<\/p>\n
It is very likely that more new political parties will emerge.
\nIt remains to be seen how the new law on political parties will
\naccommodate people's diverse aspirations. Some normative and
\npractical suggestions can be put forward as input for the
\nestablishment of such a law.<\/p>\n
First, there must be a balance between two equally important
\npriorities: democracy and political stability.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government has been under increasing pressure
\nfrom the IMF to maintain political stability so that economic
\nrecovery might soon be achieved. It would be wise if all
\npolitical groups put national interests above their respective
\nsectarian orientations. Democracy without discipline would only
\nlead this nation into a dark future.<\/p>\n
Second, the era of political engineering and co-optation by
\nthe government already belongs to the past. Let political parties
\ngrow naturally without external intervention so that eventually
\nwe can have more independent political parties.<\/p>\n
It is now the people themselves who determine which political
\nparties should survive and deserve people's support. It is too
\nearly to determine how many political parties we should have. In
\nany case, political parties should reflect the aspirations of
\nmajor political groups in society.<\/p>\n
Third, we ought to realize by now that the absence of a
\ncommitted opposition party over a long period could lead to
\nchronic abuse of power by the government. The Indonesian
\npolitical system needs to institutionalize and strengthen public
\ncontrol through an effective functioning of an opposition party.<\/p>\n
Last but not least, let us end the practice of state
\ncorporatism through which the government grants a monopoly of
\nrepresentation to certain groups.<\/p>\n
Indonesian journalists, for instance, may establish their own
\nindependent association without being forced to become members of
\nthe government-backed Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI).<\/p>\n
Political standardization could hamper efforts to establish a
\nstrong civil society as a precondition for a democratic state.
\nHopefully, these ideas can be used as input for the establishment
\nof a new law on political parties.<\/p>\n
The writer is the head of the school of international
\nrelations at the Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung.<\/p>\n
Window: ...our eagerness to establish a democratic party system
\nmay never sacrifice the need to have sufficient political
\nstability so that foreign investors might not be hesitated to
\ninvest their money here.<\/p>",
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