Victory for the status quo<\/p>\n
The deliberations in the House of Representatives on the three
\npolitical bills passed into law on Thursday followed a familiar
\nbut disturbing pattern. The two dominant factions in the House --
\nGolkar and the Armed Forces (ABRI) -- flexed their muscles to
\nimpose their wills, not only on the two smaller, helpless
\nfactions in the House -- the United Development Party (PPP) and
\nthe Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) -- but also on the entire
\nnation. Except for a brief moment of resistance put up by the
\nPPP, the two smaller factions meekly played along with Golkar and
\nABRI. So familiar was the picture that one could not help feel a
\nsense of dj vu harking back to the political processes during
\n32 years of Soeharto's repressive regime.<\/p>\n
All four of the House factions endorsed the bills, which, once
\nsigned by President B.J. Habibie, will become the legal bases
\naround which the general election in June will be organized. The
\nfactions patted themselves on the back for a job well done, and
\nfor completing the \"democratic\" process by the government-set
\ndeadline.<\/p>\n
The wheeling and dealing among the four factions took place
\nwith little regard to what was occurring outside of the House.
\nThe four factions were simply fighting for their own survival,
\nusing their remaining privileges to ensure that they emerge from
\nthe reform movement with as much remaining power as possible.
\nThus, ABRI is allotted 38 seats in the House and Golkar can still
\neffectively count on the support of the civil servants.<\/p>\n
The deliberations ignored outside demands that ABRI leave off
\npoliticking, that the bureaucracy remain politically neutral and
\nthat Golkar relinquish its power in order to make way for real
\nreform. Unfortunately, it is too much to expect that Golkar and
\nABRI will make sacrifices as long as they still call the shots in
\nthe House. These two groups cannot be expected to put any other
\ninterests, even those of the nation, over their own.<\/p>\n
This is the sad state of our democracy. As in the Soeharto
\nera, the emphasis of the House deliberations was on formal
\nprocedures, not substance. Soeharto was elected seven times
\nthrough a formal constitutional process, but who can say that he
\nwas ever truly democratically elected? Golkar won six landslide
\nelection victories, but no one can claim that the election
\nprocess ever lived up to the true spirit of democracy. ABRI
\nmanaged to hold onto its sociopolitical role through what it
\ncalled a \"national consensus\" which actually occurred between the
\nprivileged elite of the time.<\/p>\n
The reform movement launched last year sought to change all
\nthis and make the political process in this country democratic in
\nthe true sense and spirit of the word. The movement succeeded in
\nforcing Soeharto out of power in May, and his successor, Habibie,
\ninitially showed promising signs of embracing true democracy,
\nincluding his pledge to organize an honest and fair general
\nelection.<\/p>\n
So much of this country's hope has been placed on this
\nupcoming election. It has been widely touted as the defining
\nmoment for this country's future. How the election is held will
\ndetermine whether or not the country's confidence will return,
\nand with this return of confidence the renewed growth of the
\neconomy. A truly democratically elected administration will have
\nlegitimacy and credibility, two qualities which the current
\ngovernment sorely lacks.<\/p>\n
Given the high expectations people inside and outside this
\ncountry have placed on the June general election, one is left to
\nwonder how Golkar and ABRI can stomach playing the same games
\nthey played under Soeharto in order to subvert the ideals of the
\nreform movement simply to cling to power as long as possible.<\/p>\n
The way the political laws were enacted, as well as their
\nsubstance, will make it difficult for the government to sell them
\nto the public, the dozens of political parties hoping to contest
\nthe June election, and especially to the students who launched
\nthe reform movement. Judging by the process used to pass these
\npolitical bills, the general election, if it still goes ahead as
\nplanned, will be anything but honest and fair.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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