In search of PDI-P
Once upon a time in the not so distant past, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) bore the country's political hopes and dreams. Its leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri, was an icon of idealism, rising up in the face of dogma and oppression.
Her defiance of the prevailing political regimentation lifted the former housewife to folk hero status. She was no longer simply the daughter of founding president Sukarno; she now stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her father in the chronicle of Indonesia's history.
But how the mighty have fallen. The rise and fall of the PDI-P is a story worthy of a splendid tear. The PDI-P began on Monday its six-day national congress to elect a person to lead the party to the elections in 2009.
The manner of the party's electoral downfall in 2004 should have been an awakening for a party that depended so much on its "ideological" appeal rather than cash or a political network. It is time for the PDI-P to realize that it must begin to refocus on the "democratic struggle" of its name.
Unfortunately, the party has gotten further and further away from the struggle for democracy over the past several years.
Despite its motto as the "party of the little people" (partai wong cilik), the PDI-P, during its reign in the executive, was instead identified with aloofness, arrogance and vice.
It was no surprise then -- except to oblivious senior party officials -- that from winning a third of the votes in the 1998 general election, the party's support crumbled to just over 18 percent of votes cast in 2004.
Worse still, in a direct head-to-head battle with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the September presidential election, over 60 percent of Indonesians who voted cast a resounding rejection of Megawati's presidency.
What should have been a rude awakening was instead met with seeming indifference by party officials. During the transition from Megawati's to Susilo's administration, democracy's folk hero acted with belligerence as she refused to exit with the grace that defined her father.
This week the PDI-P has an opportunity to remake itself once again into the party of the little people. But in the lead-up to the congress, there were more signs of impudence toward the democratic process rather than an exaltation of it.
The weeks heading up to the congress were dominated by a frigid system that perpetuates elitism rather than egalitarianism in the party. Megawati may or may not be the best person to lead the party, but there should be an open dialog about the issue.
There seems to be a party dogma that to challenge the incumbent leader is political blasphemy. Such vanity is obsolete if the PDI-P hopes to adjust to the type of egalitarian system the country is trying to instill.
In this respect, the PDI-P would do well to learn from the Golkar Party. While that party's election process is believed to have been fraught with money politics and political horse- trading, Golkar succeeded in introducing an open system that, by and large, was akin to a democratic election.
The most effective form of democratic education is through the political party system. It is through the party ranks that the country will produce statesmen or political mercenaries.
It is not for us to say whether Megawati is still able to lead the PDI-P. But failure to embrace change will leave the party out of step with the vibrancy of Indonesian democracy.
Maybe Megawati, roused by her defeat, will be the one to introduce reform to the PDI-P. Then again, maybe it is time for someone less tainted with the failings of power to take over the reins of the party.
The former president may claim that she is still beloved by the PDI-P faithful. And that is likely the truth. But she must realize that triumph and defeat come not from the clamor of the streets or the plaudits of the throng, but instead from one's own sense of statesmanship.