Abstaining 'shows political awareness'

By Sirikit Syah

JAKARTA (JP): Political observer M. Budyatna defended yesterday students who decided to abstain from voting, saying the stance reflects political awareness rather than apathy.

"The students are just critical. I'm proud of them," said Budyatna, the dean of the University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences.

Commenting on recent polls that a growing number of university students have, out of discontent over the political situation, decided not to vote in the May 29 election, Budyatna said the stance should be appreciated and "given a space".

He said the youths were still full of idealism and innocence, which explained why they became upset when watching their supposed role models fighting for their own interests.

"The students believe there's an unhealthy situation in society now. That's why they prefer not to be involved in the election," he said.

He conceded that some polls might not have been conducted in a rigorously scientific manner. "There's the question of how the researchers formulate the questionnaires and how they present them," he said.

"Loaded or leading questionnaires, for instance, lead to expected or planned answers. But a reputable survey agency wouldn't do such a thing," he said.

Sociologist Hotman Siahaan at the Airlangga University in Surabaya said poll abstaining, known in Indonesia as Golput, was not a tradition among students.

"If it seems more people choose to be Golput, it's only because now people have become brave enough to express their opinion," he said.

One of the polls, conducted in Malang, East Java, said that 80 percent of youths in the region would not vote. A more recent study by the University of Indonesia said that 40 percent of students would not vote.

Hotman attributed the trend to what he called budaya tanding, a knee-jerk reaction of students against the establishment. "They are seeking alternatives," he said.

"It doesn't mean they are not 'politically developed.' On the contrary, they understand that they have the right to vote or not vote. They are only using their right," he said.

"The problem is, voting here is seen more as an obligation. If you dare say that you are a non-voter, you'd be considered the government's enemy," he said.

Former Moslem politician Hartono Mardjono disagreed. He said reforms should be sought through voting.

"By not voting... we can't leave the present situation (which is marked with) corruption," he said. "Becoming a non-voter is not effective. It doesn't reflect political awareness. It's an emotional stance."

He said politically aware people would know that abstaining means giving more votes to an unwanted ruling party.

"Most people do not realize that there are two steps of the election that do not involve political parties; the enlisting of voters and the vote-getting," he said.

"Only Golkar, as the dominant group, is involved in the two steps. It means the monitoring process would be very weak and open to abuse," said Hartono, who is the former leader of the United Development Party (PPP).

He also questioned the methods employed in the polls on abstaining students.

Golput began in the early 1970s. Scholar Arief Budiman was the first person to admit being an abstainer, and asked that the group be recognized with the symbol of a white pentagon.

Hartono said students might have become more apathetic because they have to contend with too many government restrictions.

"Their lecturers in school are automatically Golkar members, while politicians from the other groups can't even enter their campuses. Their political aspiration has been killed," he said.

Budyatna disagreed that there is an unhealthy political life in universities. "If students are allowed to practice politics in universities, they will forget their study. Besides, they will fight with each other just because they have different political orientations," he said.

"Students should learn about politics at universities, but practice outside," he said. "Students are now more politically mature, have their own opinion, and are less gullible."