Amien Rais' election

Amien Rais' election

Tuesday evening's election of the People's Consultative
Assembly speaker, broadcast live by a private TV station, gave
the impression that democracy in Indonesia has been successfully
resuscitated.

Many people later said they had been caught by surprise by the
nomination of Mohammad Amien Rais, who was one among many
candidates from bigger political groupings. Amien is chairman of
the National Mandate Party (PAN), which emerged from the June
general election with only 7 percent of the vote.

Moreover, talk around town had it that Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
leader Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid would be given the post.
Politicians of some leading parties had earlier said that Gus
Dur, whose followers regard him as "the nation's guru", was fit
to lead the nation's highest constitutional body.

As the counting of the ballot continued late into the night
and had people on the edge of their seats, the result staggered
even more people. Amien won the election. Reports said that he
was not only supported by his caucus, the "axis force", but also
by the Golkar Party, the second largest political party behind
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Judging by Amien's declining popularity within his own party,
many observers doubt that many PAN members voted for him in the
election.

The runner-up of the election was Matori Abdul Jalil, chairman
of the National Awakening Party (PKB), whose supporters consist
of NU members. PKB has been PDI Perjuangan's dedicated bedfellow
for months.

Amien and Matori have their own pluses and minuses. Amien has
a better educational background. He got his doctorate decree from
Chicago University, the U.S., but has less political experience
than Matori, who was secretary-general of the United Development
Party (PPP) and a member of the House of Representatives for
years.

But Matori was educated at home, and mostly at Islamic
traditional schools. Amien was also largely recognized as the
vanguard of reform and together with Jakarta students he played a
pivotal role in the struggle to force president Soeharto to
resign last year.

In this political map, the support given to Amien and elements
of the Golkar Party cannot possibly be understood by many, since
the party has reportedly reached an undeclared agreement with PDI
Perjuangan.

Many believe a deal was made between Golkar and Amien. While
the truth of this notion still has to be proven, one thing is
true: PDI Perjuangan evidently suffered a loss at Matori's
failure. But few believe PDI Perjuangan's disappointment will
affect the election of its chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to
the presidency three weeks from now, for which the party will
depend so much upon the support of Golkar members.

Such expectation is no secret in today's political game in a
nation that is new at democracy. Such a game seems to have been
ubiquitously reflected in the focus of the game, with parties
fielding all sorts of figures and declaring who deserved which
post, instead of concentrating on getting the system right and
working out the program.

This political culture might prompt ambitious politicians to
practice the dirty game of money politics, which many believe
has been covertly pursued. It is also possible we will see a
trace of tragic comedy in which a certain group will pull the rug
out from under some self-assertive lame-duck presidential
aspirant. This trend in no way helps the country, which is facing
a calamitous, multidimensional crisis.

In the wake of Amien Rais' triumph, many are convinced
that the professor of political science and former leader of
Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim organization,
is not a bad choice. He was outspoken even under Soeharto's iron-
fisted rule. We hope his ascent to the position of Assembly
speaker will not see the reform movement veer from its ideal.

Since he now holds the country's highest job, we also hope he
will act as a true statesman, improve his personal style where
democratic values are concerned and be more consistent in his
stance, for example by only making statements which he can
translate into practice.