A question of ethics

A question of ethics

Although the number of campaign violations ahead of the July 5
presidential election is still relatively small -- 54 compared to
1,300 infractions during the first week of the legislative
election campaign -- they nevertheless indicate a rather
disconcerting willingness on the part of all of the candidates to
circumvent the rules and regulations to suit their own ends.

The Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu), in a statement
issued on Wednesday, said it had found both "administrative" and
"criminal" violations committed during the first five days of
campaigning by all of the candidates, without exception.

The incumbent President, Megawati Soekarnoputri, and her
running mate Hasyim Muzadi had the dubious honor of being at the
top of the list with 14 violations, ranging from the illegal use
of state facilities to disrupting public order, campaigning
outside their designated periods and giving the go-ahead for
state officials to campaign on their behalf.

Infractions categorized as "administrative" in nature include
such relatively minor violations as the display of the symbols
and attributes of candidates outside designated areas, staging
campaigns in violation of existing regulations, failing to notify
the police of rallies and involving state officials in campaign
activities.

Violations of the criminal category, on the other hand,
include more serious offenses such as the illegal use of state
facilities and disturbing public order.

So far, the Election Supervisory Committee appears to have
done a satisfactory job of tallying and tabulating the violations
committed by each of the five pairs of presidential and vice
presidential candidates, even though its findings may appear
overly optimistic to the public at large. To many Indonesians who
have seen the campaigning in person or who have followed it
through reports in the media, it may seem incredible that "only"
54 violations were committed nationwide during the first five
days of the campaign.

One of the most serious offenses -- and one of the most
difficult to prove -- is what Indonesians refer to as "money
politics", or vote buying. In the minds of many Indonesians, if
not most, there is no doubt that money politics is being
practiced in the presidential election, especially since such
money if often given in the form of voluntary donations. In the
absence of tangible evidence of malfeasance, however, all the
Indonesian public can do is stand in amazement at the enormous
wealth which most of the candidates appear to be wallowing in.

In any case, assuming that the committee's findings are
correct, the next step would be to take fair and proper action
against all of the violators, without exception. According to
Panwaslu vice chairman Saut Sirait, the first step would be to
ask local supervisory committees to collect all the evidence
necessary, and, in the case of administrative violations, written
reprimands would be sent to the violators. Violations falling
under the criminal category would be processed in accordance with
the dictates of the law.

Actual action has in fact already been taken in a few cases.
The committee has reprimanded the minister of religious affairs,
Said Agiel al Munawar, for campaigning without first taking leave
from office. In Yogyakarta, the General Elections Commission has
threatened to bar presidential candidate Amien Rais and his
running mate Siswono Yudohusodo from further campaigning in the
province after a person was found using a state-owned car to
attend a rally staged by the pair.

All of this raises the hope that the process of
democratization is evolving positively, if slowly, in Indonesia.
Panwaslu's efforts to become an effective instrument in
supervising the election process -- helped, no doubt, by the
experience it gained during the recent legislative election --
represents a good step forward in that direction. Now it is up to
the presidential candidates to make a contribution to the process
of Indonesia's evolvement toward becoming a full-fledged and
healthy democracy in the not too distant future.