All politics is local

All politics is local

All politics is local, the late speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives Tip O'Neil once said. This maxim applies, or
should apply, equally in a new democratic Indonesia as it has for
a long time in O'Neil's homeland which has more than two
centuries of democratic tradition. The world may have turned into
one big global community, but at the end of the day, what matters
to most of us is what happens within our neighborhood.

With that in mind, it is sad to note that the ongoing
elections of the representatives of the newly established dewan
kelurahan (subdistrict councils) in Jakarta have received scant
publicity by the local media (including yours truly). Here is an
election that no resident can afford to be indifferent about, for
the council is the one forum where people can really have a say
and influence what happens in their own neighborhood.

The Jakarta city administration last year enacted Bylaw No. 5
which calls for the establishment of subdistrict councils. The
goal is to give communities a greater say, or at least some
influence, over development in their own neighborhoods. The
councils, comprising representatives elected by the community,
will act as a bridge between people and the subdistrict offices,
which are the lowest level of the city administration. According
to the bylaw, the council, elected on a five-yearly basis,
represents the aspirations of the community and helps explain
public policies to the community.

In the past week, the 265 subdistrict offices in Jakarta have
been busy looking for candidates to sit in these new councils,
which the city administration had expected to be formed by the
end of the month. But with such short notice, many of the
neighborhood units have so far failed to come up with any
candidates. And because of the little publicity that such a
democratic process at grassroots level is getting from the
capital's media, the election and selection process has escaped
the attention of most residents.

The lack of attention also reflects growing public apathy
toward political processes in this country. Who can blame them?
Looking at the endless bickering among the nation's political
leaders, many people have been put off by political developments
in this country, certainly at the national level.

The election of subdistrict councils however presents a golden
opportunity for residents of Jakarta to make a difference, not
about national politics, but more about what happens in their own
immediate neighborhood. Here is a forum through which residents
can press their demands for better services from their local
administrations, to make their neighborhood safer, cleaner and
essentially a better place to live in.

Whether or not this was the original intention, the bylaw
marks the first step to develop democracy at the grassroots
level. Sure there are shortcomings in the regulations and their
implementation, but they are all part of the long learning curve
required when practicing democracy.

Some subdistrict chiefs, in their efforts to meet the Jan. 31
deadline to establish the councils, have taken the short cut of
selecting representatives, bypassing credible election processes.
Other subdistrict chiefs, as reported by the Jakarta City
Council, have been making house calls seeking endorsement for
representatives they have picked personally. Thankfully, the city
administration has now removed the deadline and let the
neighborhood units take their time in forming the councils.

Bylaw No. 5 falls short of truly empowering the councils.
These councils are essentially watchdogs without teeth. They can
monitor activities of the subdistrict offices but cannot remove
or reprimand subdistrict chiefs. To this day, there is still the
strong impression that subdistrict offices are set up to
represent the rulers and not to serve the community. Some day,
soon, with the establishment of subdistrict councils, the
subdistrict administration should become subservient to the
community's needs.

The establishment of the new councils is a step in the right
direction in giving power back to the community. It would be a
sad tragedy if residents of Jakarta remain indifferent and fail
to participate in an election which is important to their most
immediate interests: their neighborhood.