Vote for real change<\/p>\n
Today is decision time for Indonesia, or more precisely for
\nIndonesians. For once, people of voting age have a rare
\nopportunity to determine their own fate, like all free people in
\na civilized society should. This year's general election, for all
\nits flaws, offers Indonesians the chance to elect their own
\nleaders in a democratic fashion. It certainly beats the last six
\nrigged elections that saw Soeharto reelected each time.<\/p>\n
This will be the first ever democratic poll Indonesia has held
\nsince 1955. It culminates the long and bloody struggle that began
\nwith the student movement in January 1998. The movement, with the
\ncry battle reformasi (reform), brought the tyrannical rule of
\npresident Soeharto to an abrupt end in May last year. Students
\nand youths, and society as a whole, paid with blood, sweat and
\ntears to achieve that goal.<\/p>\n
The reform struggle is not over yet. Far from it. Bringing
\nSoeharto down was only the first step. Many elements or
\ncomponents of the New Order regime remain powerful and have put
\nup a fierce fight to ensure that they remain in charge of the
\ncountry. The fight for reform is still continuing, and today's
\ngeneral election is the means for that peaceful struggle.<\/p>\n
It is too early to predict victory for reform. Various opinion
\npolls published in recent weeks may have given the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) the lead, but these
\nreflected mostly the urban population, who make up less than 40
\npercent of Indonesians. The 60 percent or more of the population
\nin rural areas were not only left out of these surveys, they were
\nalso out of reach of most of the major proreform parties.<\/p>\n
The massive turn out at campaign rallies is misleading since
\nthey were more a carnival event than a real political gathering.
\nBesides, some of these participants were paid to join, and they
\nwould not necessarily vote for the generous party today.<\/p>\n
Predictions by analysts and punters are even less reliable,
\nespecially since most of them used the voters' behavior pattern
\nof the 1955 general election. That they have to go as far as 44
\nyears back to predict the 1999 elections is a sad reflection of
\nIndonesia's democracy. It is like predicting the 2000 elections
\nin the U.S. by studying the voting pattern of the 1957 elections
\nthat saw Dwight Eisenhower win his second term in office. Nothing
\ncan be more pathetic than that. It is sad but true that when it
\ncomes to democracy, time has stood still in Indonesia. We have
\nbeen deprived of the chance of building this nation upon a solid
\ndemocratic footing, first by Sukarno, and later by Soeharto.<\/p>\n
The opinion surveys, the predictions by so-called experts and
\nthe turnout rate at campaign rallies are meaningless on election
\nday. They don't count. It is the ballots that win elections.<\/p>\n
Voters in Indonesia nevertheless have real choices to make
\ntoday. Forty-eight of them to be exact. It remains to be seen
\nwhether they will make informed choices, which is what a
\ndemocratic election is really all about. We just hope that the
\nproreform parties, although competing against one another in this
\nelection, have managed to convey their message effectively, that
\nwhat this country needs is a real and genuine change.<\/p>\n
This general election, even with its shortcomings because it
\nwas hastily prepared, offers the best chance for the nation to
\neliminate all the remnants of Soeharto's New Order forces, the
\nso-called status quo forces, in a peaceful and orderly fashion.<\/p>\n
Everyone should, indeed, vote according to their conscience.
\nFor the sake of this country's future, they should vote for a
\nreal and genuine change. The greatest tragedy that could befall
\nthe nation today is to return the status quo forces to office.
\nThen, it will be on our conscience that we have betrayed the
\nreform movement -- and betrayed those who gave their lives for
\nthe movement -- for failing to make meaningful changes in this
\ncountry when the rare opportunity presents itself.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vote-for-real-change-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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