The 1997 poll: A cultural event?<\/p>\n
By Arief Budiman<\/p>\n
SALATIGA, Central Java (JP): On May 29, Indonesia will have
\nnot one, but two general elections. The first one will be run by
\nthe government. The second one will be run by the people. Let me
\nelaborate.<\/p>\n
The first general election, the government-run general
\nelection, will pit three contestants in a race for legislative
\nseats: Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party (PDI). People are urged to
\nparticipate in the election, to vote for one of the three. The
\ngovernment has repeatedly announced that would be to the people's
\nadvantage to participate in this election, that the election is
\ntheir precious political right to have a say on how to best rule
\nthe country. The Indonesian constitution states voting is a right
\nand not a duty, and therefore the government cannot punish people
\nwho do not cast votes. They have the right not to vote.<\/p>\n
There is a real possibility that quite a substantial number of
\npeople will boycott this coming election. And here we arrive at
\nthe second type of election which is the people's election,
\njoined especially by those who are dissatisfied with the
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
While in the government-held election people vote for one of
\nthe three political parties, the second election would be like a
\nreferendum, a referendum to judge whether the general election is
\ndemocratic or manipulated, acceptable or unacceptable. If people
\ndeem it democratic and acceptable, they will cast their ballots
\nand vote for one of the three existing political parties, thus
\nfulfilling what government's wish. If they think the election
\nwill be undemocratic and therefore unacceptable, they will
\nrefrain from voting and boycott the election. In Indonesian
\npolitical jargon, it is said that these people vote for Golongan
\nPutih (Golput, the White Group).<\/p>\n
What is Golput? The movement to boycott general elections came
\nabout during the 1971 general election. The movement was
\norganized by young people, mostly university students, who
\nconsidered the newly created election regulations undemocratic.
\nFor instance, there was a regulation, which still exists today,
\nthat stated the number of political parties be limited by the
\ngovernment. If some people wanted to create a new political
\nparty, permission from the government had to be obtained. But
\npermission was usually rejected. Also, civil servants had to vote
\nfor Golkar or face possible dismissal from their jobs. Candidates
\nfor the legislature had to pass screening by military
\nintelligence, which declared whether they were \"Pancasilaist\" or
\nnot, a very loose term that makes it possible to reject
\ncandidates that were critical of the government. Rules such as
\nthese made it very difficult to expect an independent legislature
\nnot dominated by government supporters.<\/p>\n
Some of these young people then decided to become Golput. They
\nchoose not to mark any of the symbols representing the three
\npolitical parties, but marked the white margin of the ballot
\npaper instead, rendering their votes invalid. This is the White
\nGroup, which has been present in every general election ever
\nsince.<\/p>\n
The second type of election, the people's election, has also
\nbeen called the Ola Elu election. The name came out of Yogyakarta
\nduring the 1992 election. At that time, the administration issued
\na regulation that put the non-Golkar parties at a disadvantage.
\nPPP and PDI reacted by removing all their banners and putting up
\nslogans saying aku ola elu, slang for the Javanese aku ora melu
\n(I don't participate). Banners from the other two parties
\ndisappeared completely and all that were left were Golkar
\nbanners. As if these other parties were saying: \"OK, it's all
\nyours. I won't participate, aku ola elu.\" The government then
\nspent a lot of time and energy to persuade the two parties to
\nparticipate in general elections.<\/p>\n
The possibility that people may join the Ola Elu group and
\ndeclare themselves part of the Golput has increased following the
\nrecent sociopolitical developments in the country.<\/p>\n
Since 1971, when the first general election under the New
\nOrder was conducted, there have been regulations that gave Golkar
\nadvantages as a government party. The most blatant one is that
\ncivil servants have to join Golkar. Moreover, the Armed Forces,
\nan institution that is supposed to remain neutral, openly
\nsupports Golkar. President Soeharto is the chairman of the
\nGolkar's board of directors. (When PDI, a few years ago, asked
\nhim to be the head of their board also, arguing that the
\nPresident belongs to all people, they were turned down.) These
\nregulations, with some others, are more than enough to make some
\npeople, especially the educated middle class, feel that the
\nexisting election is undemocratic, and so they may choose to
\nboycott the election in protest. All these regulations are
\nfactors that have produced Golput followers up until now.<\/p>\n
At present, however, there have been numerous new factors that
\nmay boost the number of Golput people. These new factors, among
\nothers, are:<\/p>\n
First, after the removal of Megawati as PDI chairwoman and the
\nattack on the party headquarters on July 27, 1996, many people
\ncame to believe that the government did a gross injustice to
\nMegawati and her followers. Many people believe Megawati was
\nremoved because the government did not want to see her named as a
\npresidential candidate to challenge Soeharto in the 1998
\npresidential election.<\/p>\n
Megawati followers are unable to do much to fight this unjust
\nintervention by the government except to boycott the general
\nelection. It seems very likely that this attitude has also been
\nadopted by many sympathizers of Megawati outside PDI, in protest
\nand in solidarity of the daughter of the nation's founding
\nfather, Sukarno. So there is an increasing possibility that many
\nmore people will join Golput.<\/p>\n
Second, another factor is the blatant arrogance of some local
\ngovernment officials, as shown by the policies which have been
\ncarried out intensively in Central Java, such as \"yellowization\".
\nAs reported by the media, many public places (such as trees and
\ntraffic signs) in the big cities of Central Java have been
\npainted yellow, the color of Golkar. Protests came especially
\nfrom PPP, but to no avail. So they took the case into their own
\nhands by repainting public utilities in their original colors.
\nHowever the next day, the government, guarded by the police and
\nmilitary, repainted these places yellow again.<\/p>\n
This act of protest by PPP has gained much sympathy from many
\npeople outside the party. The PPP branch in Surakarta has also
\nindirectly threatened to boycott the election campaign in protest
\nof some of the campaigning regulations set by the government. In
\nother words, Golput has also emerged within the political parties
\nparticipating in the election.<\/p>\n
In the old days, about 10 percent of eligible voters did not
\ncast votes, or for some reason made their ballots void. These
\npeople are considered as Golput and the percentage has been
\nstable up to this time. (It also has to be noted that not all of
\nthe 10 percent are Golput followers in the true sense of the
\nword, namely that not all of them consciously reject voting.
\nMaybe many of them do not vote for other reasons, such as
\nillness, absence, or they do not understand how to vote, etc.)
\nSome agree that true Golput members primarily come from the
\neducated middle class. However, after July 27 and the aggressive
\n\"yellowization\" policy of the government in Central Java, a
\nsecond type of Golput has entered the stage.<\/p>\n
This second type of Golput is different from the first. They
\nare not the educated middle class. They are predominantly lower
\nclass, ex-followers of the late president Sukarno, some are also
\nMoslems. They are more numerous than the first type. Thus, it
\nwould be unsurprising if the number of Golput increased in the
\nMay 29 election.<\/p>\n
It is then quite understandable if the government seems
\nnervous in facing this election. The Armed Forces Chief of
\nSociopolitical Affairs Gen. Syarwan Hamid was quoted by the
\nIndonesia Times as warning that any attempt \"... to encourage
\npeople not to vote is against the law\". The President himself has
\nwarned that he would \"clobber\" those who persuaded other people
\nnot to vote. Sri Bintang Pamungkas, leader of an unofficial
\nopposition party, was arrested because he sent Idul Fitri cards
\nto people, urging them to boycott the election. However, in major
\ncities across Indonesia, there is graffiti and posters urging
\npeople to boycott the 1997 election. Even the Catholic church
\nmade a statement on Feb. 13, saying it would not be a sin to
\nrefuse to vote in this year's general election \"if you really do
\nnot feel represented and are sure with all your heart that your
\naspirations are not being heard\".<\/p>\n
So, the Ola Elu election is coming and Golput numbers are
\nincreasing. However, it will not change anything politically.
\nWith the existing election rules, Golkar will still rule, the
\nmilitary will still be dominant in directing the country's
\npolitical course, and many people speculate that Pak Harto will
\nbe reelected in 1998. The commotion of Golput, the Independent
\nElection Monitoring Committee created by critical intellectuals,
\nand other similar things are no more than a symbolic political
\nbattle, not a real one. As Cornelis Lay, a Gadjah Mada University
\nlecturer, said recently, the May general election in Indonesia
\nwill be a cultural event, not a political one. It will not change
\nanything politically, it will only be, as the government keeps on
\nsaying, a big festival of democracy. The festival is still more
\nimportant than the democracy.<\/p>\n
The writer is a sociologist and researcher based in Salatiga.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-1997-poll-a-cultural-event-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }