Democracy 'but a concept' in RI

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

The much-vaunted reform movement has helped Indonesia build a democratic infrastructure but the country has yet to develop democratic practices, a noted political analyst says.

Speaking at a seminar here on Monday, Harold Crouch of the Australian National University said Indonesia had actually done quite well in establishing an adequate democratic framework since 1998.

The formal constitutional system, he said, had provided an infrastructure that enables the practice of real democracy. Yet, a democratic infrastructure alone was not sufficient to guarantee that democracy would work well.

"These days we hear many complaints about the behavior of politicians who have been elected in free and democratic elections," Crouch, a specialist in Southeast Asian politics, particularly those of Indonesia, told the seminar, held to mark the 50th anniversary of Gadjah Mada University's School of Social and Political Sciences.

Also speaking at the forum was former People's Consultative Assembly speaker Amien Rais, who is an alumni of the school.

"Not only do we hear many stories about corruption among officials and legislators, but every few weeks we read about democratically elected politicians being convicted and sent to jail," Crouch added.

A democratic political infrastructure, therefore, did not guarantee good government, but only made it easier to introduce reforms that could improve the quality of governance.

"It, therefore, would not matter whether a head of government is elected directly or indirectly, whether an election is held under a district, proportional representation, or a mixed system. It also would not matter whether it is a unitary state or a federal constitution.

"All these systems are 100 percent compatible with democratic principles. You can't say that one type is in principle more democratic than others," he said.

The choice between these alternatives, he said, was basically a pragmatic one. It all depended on how well they worked in practice in the particular political, social and economic circumstances of a particular country.

"If they work well, that is good. If they don't work so well, then just change them," he said.

The choice of an electoral system, for example, could make a real difference in practice not because one system was more democratic than another but because one system might be more appropriate to the particular problems, challenges and circumstances facing a country.

"I do not intend to argue that this system or that system would be best for Indonesia. The point is that choice of electoral system is not primarily a matter of democratic principles but depends more on the particular problems of a particular country."

"The medicine that the doctor prescribes depends on the illness. A medicine that can cure one disease can do a lot of harm for a different disease," he said.