Compromising the House

A great Indonesian statesmen, M. Natsir, some five decades ago warned his fellow parliamentarians that democracy could survive if the bonds of trust with the people were maintained.

If only today we had but a few statesmen of his caliber in the legislature.

The motives, although interesting, are irrelevant. The reality is that for nearly three weeks our current House of Representatives has been missing -- without action.

Whatever the reasons, there is no excuse for further suspending legislative activities. The triviality, which the source of the dispute is widely perceived to be, is eroding public confidence.

Over 113 million people turned out to vote in their belief in democracy. Instead of carrying the faith of voters toward a debate of some greater good, the progeny of that election has chosen to engage in petty disputes over commission seats, causing an impasse that has created a backlog of key legislation and the postponement of important decisions.

Many may wonder why they bothered to vote on that momentous Monday morning in April.

We are reminded of Natsir's peer, Sjafruddin Prawiranegara, who foretold of this niggling inclination of politicians: "When seats and positions of power becomes an end and not a means, then democracy lapses into coalitions. Eventually coalitions become consumed in anarchy".

We have not quite reached that stage yet. But without common sense, our representative democracy is inching toward chaos.

The turn of the week brought about encouraging developments as both sides showed signs of mellowing. A meeting between the two opposing coalitions Tuesday afternoon may have begun to close the divide, but there is no assurance that the House will now set to work.

We believe it is time to say, once again, "enough is enough".

Some convictions are certainly worth dying for. Sadly, what's at stake in this prolonged impasse at the House, for most of the 113 million voters, is not even worth waking up for!

The dispute over the division of House faction heads is nothing more than a selfish battle to augment the individual power of respective factions.

Our legislators seem to forget the three most important facts of life in this democratic polity: First, that in politics, just as in life, there are successes and defeats. But a sense of accomplishment can still be attained even in the latter. One does not jeopardize the whole process just because a particular party lacks insufficient seats.

Second, once again, as in life, politics is about compromise. Mature statesmen understand that legislations, regulations, policies or decrees, are never passed without some concessions.

Third, and most important, is the fact that the current balance of power is the result of an election. It is a direct reflection of the voting intent of the true stakeholders of this democracy.

Minority parties are a minority due to the simple reality that they did not receive sufficient support from the electorate. Unless they can muster an expansive majority coalition they should not impose their will on the process. Just as the President is currently learning to govern in a democratic state, legislators should learn how to be a good opposition.

In many ways, we should not be surprised at this troubling turn of events. It was anticipated that the House would be fractious, with no party occupying more than 23 percent of the seats.

It does not help if our elected representatives are tokens of the party that ushered them in, and not the agents of the voting masses. Legislators do not have political independence and are bound to the call of their party bosses.

We also knew that there would be a sharp learning curve for legislators in this wholly new political environment. Mohammad Hatta, one of the founding fathers of the nation, in 1956 pointed out that, for a nation that is not accomplished in the exercise of democracy, "some practice" is required.

However, we believe that three weeks is quite enough time for House members to practice, and to learn to be recalcitrant politicians. It's now time for them to start practicing to be legislators.