Flawed logic of majority issue

Flawed logic of majority issue

After the June 7 general election, national politics have
become more complex, especially among the elite. Since it became
apparent that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) would get most of the votes, members of the political
elite have started to make a fuss about presidential candidates.
It was triggered by the possibility of Megawati Soekarnoputri
being the candidate with the biggest chance of becoming
president, in line with the great number of votes obtained by PDI
Perjuangan compared to the other parties.

At least two arguments have been made for rejecting Megawati
as president. First, there is the group which bases its rejection
on relatively objective, rational and realistic aspects. Second,
the group that founds its arguments on an absurd and foolish way
of thinking.

Those rejecting Megawati on the grounds of capability and
capacity are those who criticize Megawati personally in a
constructive way. Megawati can use the criticism to step up her
capability and competence in leadership. That criticism is
flexible.

What gives cause for concern and annoyance is the rejection of
Megawati on the basis of sex, colored by matters of religion
(Islam). The matter of such a rejection -- so persistent and
emotional and launched by a certain political elite group -- is a
deep insult to the people.

Megawati, by the same group, is evaluated as a weak exponent
of Islam. Foolish logic is drawn: if Megawati and or PDI
Perjuangan is in power, the Muslims (which ones?) will be
marginalized. Therefore, according to their logic, it is improper
that Muslims who are the majority in this country are led by
Megawati.

This majority-minority theory, honestly speaking, is the most
sophisticated product of the New Order regime -- as part of the
divide et impera policy -- still tightly held to by a status quo
elite group who feel menaced by the recent social, cultural and
political waves of reform.

Let us observe the application of the majority-minority logic
that is launched with verve by the gang of political elites who
are now losing their self-confidence. They say that because the
majority of the population in this country is Muslim, the
president must be Muslim. This is all right because,
sociologically speaking, it is difficult to imagine that this
country would have a non-Muslim president although the 1945
Constitution does not explicitly state such a requirement.

However, if we are consistent with the majority-minority
theory, we will arrive at the same foolishness: the president
must be Muslim, a woman, lowly or superficially educated and of
Javanese extraction. The logic is very simple: the majority of
Indonesians are Muslim, the majority are female (doubters can
check with the Central Bureau of Statistics), the majority of the
population is Javanese and the majority possess a low-level
education -- not a master's degree as mentioned in the bill on
the presidency prepared by the Habibie government.

Then, using that kind of "crazy" formula, among the
presidential candidates there is only one who meets the criteria:
Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Pay attention, members of the misguided pro-status-quo
political elite; if you belong to those people who appreciate
consistency in the process of thinking, you must accept Megawati
Soekarnooputri as the only person who is legitimate and most
qualified to fit in the frame of the majority-minority logic
which you have championed all along.

MOCHAMAD TADJUDIN

Yogyakarta