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