Hopes and apprehensions
Two interesting developments are likely to stir considerable debate among political observers and analysts in the coming days. The first is represented by the surprisingly peaceful and orderly endorsement given by the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Sunday to 24 political parties to contest the upcoming two-tiered general election in April. The second is the fear expressed by observers in the reformist camp of a possible reemergence of the old, autocratic New Order regime that was ousted in 1998 in waves of violent protests.
Mindful of the rowdy pre-election record of the first general election held in 1999 under a democratic reformist regime led by President B.J. Habibie, and heeding the threats that have been made by a number of newly established political party leaders who suspected foul play in the selection process on the part of KPU officials, Jakartans had actually braced themselves for some sort of unpleasantness in the wake of Sunday's announcement.
Fortunately, that fear was proved unfounded -- at least so far. Part of the credit for Sunday's peaceful proceedings must go to the Jakarta metropolitan police force, whose officers were on standby in the vicinity of the KPU offices on Jl. Imam Bonjol, ready for any eventualities. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that the KPU's success, in limiting the number of election contestants to a minimum without arousing too much protest, cannot have been achieved without the fair and transparent working procedures to which the Commission has committed itself. For this achievement, the Commission deserves to be commended.
How the minority parties who failed the selection test will eventually react is something that will undoubtedly become clear in the days ahead. Minor trouble may not be totally unavoidable. Anticipating precisely this kind of friction, the General Elections Commission has set up its own team of legal advisers and has invited any party dissatisfied with its work to take their case to court. So far, it looks as if the process of democratic reform is on track -- one of the few encouraging signs in light of the stagnancy in the fight against corruption and other goals the leaders of the reform movement had set themselves, after the fall of the New Order regime in 1998.
Indeed, there is every reason at this point for the proponents of democratic reform not allow themselves to be complaisant. A number of surveys made recently have shown that New Order elements are making a comeback by taking strategic political and legislative posts, riding the waves of popular discontent over the slowness of the promised reforms. Although it is indisputable that some progress has been made, serious attention to the myriad of problems that remain is urgently needed.
The fight against corruption seems to be going nowhere. Indeed, there are many who maintain that corruption has become worse and more widespread than in the days of President Soeharto, who is blamed for having burdened the nation with a mountain of international debts under which it is at present bent. Political stability has enabled a degree of economic recovery to take place, yet the vast majority of Indonesia's 210 million people continue to live in poverty, and millions of people are jobless and homeless.
No one can deny that many of Indonesia's present problems have been inherited from the New Order regime. However, nothing is achieved by endless hammering on this theme. The huge job of bringing improvements to the lives of the population at large cannot be delayed and must somehow be undertaken. Unfair as it may sound, if it is true that the autocratic and corrupt New Order regime succeeds in finding ways to stage a comeback, then we have no one but ourselves to blame.