Govt and people may dance to different tunes

Govt and people may dance to different tunes

The ruling Golkar political grouping is recruiting artists as
vote-getters for next year's election to the House of
Representatives, including popular singer Rhoma Irama. Arief
Budiman argues that this move may not fare well for the artists
themselves.

SALATIGA, Central Java (JP): In a society where people are
afraid to express themselves they keep silent. But, this does not
mean that they are inactive. In their silence, they remain
observant and continue to assess events taking place around them.

I have personal experience of this. My younger brother, the
late Soe Hok-gie, died in a climbing accident on Mount Semeru in
East Java in 1969. Three years prior to his death, he was one of
the leaders of the student demonstrations in the tumultuous years
of the 1960s. Later, when many of his friends had joined the New
Order government, he chose the lonely path of writing on issues
such as human rights violations and criticizing corrupt
officials. He became popular with some readers but an enemy of
others.

My old mother used to tell him that he had chosen the wrong
path. My brother just smiled and said gently: "Mother you don't
understand."

In playing politics, we have two choices: Whether to be
close to the government, or the people. By becoming a government
friend, you become the government's hero. This means you become
part of the state, which may bring you status, power and wealth.
If you choose the people, you may become the people's hero, but
the government (at least the corrupt officials) will dislike you.
My brother was obviously in the second category.

However, his criticism did not have much impact. Corruption
continued on an even bigger scale. At the same time, there was no
sign that people appreciated what he had done. He kept on writing
his criticisms but the people stayed silent. People might have
read his articles and become excited, but soon forgot about them
when they returned to their daily routines. I am sure that my
brother sometimes wondered whether perhaps my mother had been
right after all.

Only after he died, did I discover the answer. With other
friends, I went to Malang to bring my brother's body down from
the top of Mount Semeru. Some of these friends went to the city
to buy a coffin. When they returned, one of them asked me whether
I had any relatives in the city who sold coffins. I said no. Then
he told me that when he went to the coffin shop, the owner, a
simple old Chinese man, asked him who had died. My friend
mentioned my brother's name. Suddenly, this old man started to
cry and mumble: "He was an honest and courageous man... and he
was still young".

I wouldn't have been surprised if students in Jakarta or
other big cities in Java had known of my brother. However, I did
not expect that an old man who might well have spent all his life
selling coffins in a small town would have also known him. Yet,
he had read my brother's articles, and had appreciated them.

Later, when the pilot who flew the airplane taking my
brother's body from Malang to Jakarta learned whose body he was
transporting, he told me that the Indonesian people would miss
the brave young man.

Since then I have become aware that the silent majority of
the Indonesian people may not utter a word about things around
them. Especially when the subject is a sensitive political issue.
However, they keep on watching, and evaluating. They are not as
dumb, or uninterested, as some may think.

With this insight, I turn to things that are happening
around us. One of the interesting pieces of news is that Rhoma
Irama, the famous king of "dangdut" music, is to campaign for
Golkar in the coming election as one of their candidates for the
House of Representatives.

The news attracted public attention for at least two
reasons. First, Rhoma is known to be a devout Moslem. His songs
have always been imbued with strong Islamic color. Therefore in
previous general elections he always campaigned for the United
Development Party (PPP). While not an official Moslem party, PPP
is identified as representing the Islamic constituents. During
the previous election campaign, Rhoma attracted many votes and
has since been identified as the leader, ideologist and hero of
this party. His sudden switch to Golkar, a very strong party
identified as being secular, even though it does have many Moslem
members, has prompted people to question his motivation. However
they are keeping silent.

Second, Rhoma's switch to Golkar, the backbone of the
present government, will move him closer to political power and
material wealth. So, it is difficult for Rhoma not to be
associated with those greedy for power and wealth by deciding to
serve Golkar and leave PPP. It would be very different if he had
switched to the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), especially the
camp of ousted leader Megawati, because it is a weak party
currently in trouble with the government. People know that it
needs a lot of courage to side with the weak and be ready to
sacrifice one's status and wealth. One needs a strong belief in a
principle to do so successfully.

Between the two paths of the government and the people,
Rhoma has clearly chosen the first, shifting from the second, the
path he had trodden previously. It was his adherence to the
previous path that made him so popular. However this choice,
which did not take him close to the government, resulted in
various obstacles being placed in his way. For instance, at one
point he was not allowed to appear on television. There may be
some other problems that we do not know of. So Rhoma has now
changed the path of his life, expecting to not only overcome all
the previous obstacles but also reap other benefits. So far, as
usual, people have been silent, although not necessarily
unwatchful.

In my opinion, Rhoma's audience deserves a decent
explanation. They may be quiet, still enjoying his concerts, and
cheering and applauding as loud as ever, but they may have
withdrawn their respect for him as a man of principle. If Rhoma
does not handle this matter carefully, he may suffer the fate as
Soerjadi, the government-picked PDI chairperson.

As reported by the Yogyakarta newspaper Bernas (on Sept. 18,
1996), Soerjadi was booed by the people when he turned up to
watch a football match at the recent 14th National Games. They
spontaneously cried "Long Live Megawati" to irritate him. Some
even shouted "Soerjadi, the False Bull" (the bull is the PDI
symbol). This prompted Soerjadi to leave the stadium. This was a
small eruption of the silent majority that has been quiet so far.

Returning to the two kinds of hero, Soerjadi is certainly
the government's hero, as well as Rhoma Irama now. However, the
silent majority may have a different opinion.

The writer is a sociologist and researcher based in Salatiga.