Embrace rotten politicians

When political parties submitted their lists of legislative candidates to the General Elections Committee (KPU) on Dec. 29, they were setting the stage for the legislative election in April. The election will be the first of a three-part election, followed by the presidential election in July and a run-off election in September 2004.

The end of 2003 was also marked by activists campaigning against politisi busuk -- literally, rotten politicians -- and the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Committee (KPK).

Those who felt targeted by the campaign -- notably House Speaker Akbar Tandjung who has been found guilty in a US$5 million graft case -- lashed back, saying that the activists were no less crooked.

As the names of legislative candidates were released, the public learned that many of them were well-known politicians, including those linked to the repressive New Order regime. It cannot be otherwise, as the district system warrants a need to field well-known, albeit, problematic politicians. The lists were also marred by nepotism, a sure legacy of the New Order regime.

Activists who launched the campaign against unscrupulous politicians say 70 percent of the candidates have bad track records.

Even if the allegation is only half true, it is still alarming. What to expect from this crop of potential leaders? Is there still hope?

To feel alarmed by the prospects for the country's leaders is natural, especially when one considers the loopholes in the new Elections Law. The question is, how to deal with this situation? Shun the elections?

No -- this is the kind of reaction that we can't afford to entertain any more. During the New Order regime, being non-voters did serve a purpose -- being a voter was little use, since all three political parties were co-opted by the Soeharto government.

Now, the situation is different. Today, we can say no by casting a vote. In the first direct elections, if we do not want crooked politicians to take the helm, we can cast a vote to prevent this. Otherwise, unscrupulous politicians will have a field day -- and the future of this nation will truly be at stake.

It is often said that the quality of leaders reflect the quality of voters.

Legislators, because they are instrumental in nominating presidential hopefuls, sooner or later will come to dominate the government.

This is, however, only part of the equation. On the other hand, we also need to be realistic. What leaders we have today have been groomed over the last 20 years, and a rotten regime breeds rotten leaders. Even the leadership of one of the best of them, Abdurrahman Wahid, failed to realize our hopes following the fall of Soeharto in 1998 and his protege B.J. Habibie in 1999. The same stands true for our incumbent leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Do not be deluded into thinking we will get a good leader this year, either. Only after two or three elections, perhaps, will there be a leader of some quality who could eventually bring us toward the light at the end of the tunnel.

People tend to lose their perspective in the dark, and this is especially so in the darkness has engulfed us since the 1997 economic crisis. The nation was the hardest hit in the region, and things seem to get worse and worse everyday. Life is becoming more difficult, and the elite only seems to be concerned about power and money.

The erstwhile efforts by a tiny number of people to make a difference in their own ways in their small circles seem to have gone by unnoticed. People are too worried about their day-to-day affairs, while those who go against the rotten stream seem too remote to make their presence known.

Surely, things are not as bad as they appear to be. For example, the KPU we have today is different from those of the past, as the committee is manned by independent people. Out are the government and party representatives. Overnight, it has become a more open and transparent organization.

Another example is the establishment of the KPK, which has a stronger legal instrument against corruption. Things, however superficial they may seem, have certainly moved in the right direction.

We may end up having rotten politicians filling half of the legislature in April. Embrace this probable result wholeheartedly and hail the rotten politicians for the time being. There is no other choice, but surely they will be ushered into a far different playing field than before -- a freer press, a more critical public and more outspoken NGOs -- and learn that it is now harder to steal money or to ransack the environment.

But we must make the first step forward by casting our votes in a long and painful journey toward real improvement.