Indonesian Muslims show what democracy means

Indonesian Muslims show what democracy means

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta

For a nation whose people are close to losing confidence in
the very existence of their country after the series of
catastrophes suffered -- some scholars have even described
Indonesia as a failed state -- former U.S. president Jimmy
Carter's praise of the country's first direct presidential
election is like an oasis in the Sahara desert.

It is not impossible that Carter's praise could be premature
for this fledgling democracy. But at least for the time being it
will help the nation to see that there is light at the end of the
tunnel, regardless of how long the tunnel is.

Carter, whose nonprofit group, the Carter Center, sent 60
international observers to monitor the election throughout the
country -- the second mission after the 1999 general election --
said Monday's election was "a vivid demonstration that it's not a
citizen's religious faith that decides whether they prefer
democracy."

"This rejects the frequent statements I hear in America that
the Muslim faith is incompatible with democracy. The people of
Indonesia have proven this to be a false premise." the Associated
Press quoted the former president as saying on Thursday.

The preliminary results of the presidential election strongly
indicated that the country's registered 150 million voters --
mostly Muslims -- are not very interested in the jargon of Islam.
The overwhelming majority of Indonesians have shown that they are
pragmatic. They need a leader who can bring better living
conditions to the people, especially in terms of economy.

There is also the embarrassing fact that Indonesia, the
world's most populous Muslim nation, is also ranked as one of the
top three most corrupt countries in the world. To many Muslims,
politicians use Islam as a means to entice voters, rather than
using the faith as guiding principle for their own lives.

Compared to the other four presidential candidates, the leader
of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Amien Rais, is regarded by
many as having the least negative image, or as being the "lesser
of five evils". He is a former chairman of Muhammadiyah, the
country's second largest Muslim organization. He also won the
support of the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

However, he has very little chance of achieving one of the top
two spots, to contest in the runoff. "He is clean, but that is
more because he has not had a chance to prove that he can resist
the temptations," said a Muslim cleric who voted for Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired army general who is more popularly
known as SBY.

Look also at the fiasco suffered by the leader of the Islam-
oriented United Development Party (PPP), Hamzah Haz, who was
paired up with Gen. (ret) Agum Gumelar. While his party placed
fourth in the April legislative election with 8.15 percent of
votes, it is looking like he will finish at just 3 percent for
the presidential election -- dead last.

Hamzah, who according to media records has three wives, failed
to attract voters. Some observers say his record of polygamy is
the main factor behind his failure -- despite the fact that Islam
allows polygamy. "Should we pay for the expenses of his three
wives?" is a comment commonly heard about the current Vice
President.

So while it is apparent that religion was not a huge factor in
the election, there are still two words that are regarded as
taboo in Indonesia -- "federalism" and "secular." Indonesia has
now adopted a system of regional autonomy, which, in practice, is
very similar to federalist system. Many Indonesians would
similarly protest if their country is described as a "secular"
state.

The result of the legislative elections and the provisional
results of the presidential election, however, show that secular
political parties and presidential candidates won many more votes
than Muslim-oriented candidates. We are not as open, or as
strong, as Turkey, which has openly declared itself as a secular
state. To a certain degree, Indonesia is not very different from
Turkey.

The next question is: How will voters follow up on Carter's
praise in the September presidential election runoff? It is
almost certain that the Susilo-Jusuf Kalla pair will contest the
September round. The finalist will either be the incumbent
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate Hasyim
Muzadi, or the pair of Gen. (ret) Wiranto and Solahuddin Wahid.
Wiranto is portrayed by many as a devout Muslim, who might have
committed gross mistakes in the past, but has since repented. For
non-Muslims, however, his close relationship with hard-line
groups is perceived as a negative factor.

All of the candidates currently running are Muslims. When
Susilo's party made a coalition with the Crescent Star Party
(PBB) -- the only party which openly declares it is fighting for
the sharia -- many in Susilo's camp, particularly non-Muslims,
were initially quite shocked. However, after considering the very
small number of votes the party won in the April legislative
election (2.6 percent), many voters apparently concluded that the
PBB executives were more concerned about their political future
rather than achieving their sharia ideals.

What voters are now interested to hear from the two finalists
is not defensive statements about the threat of terrorism here,
or whether the United States is the real terrorist, or that the
only goal of the West regarding Indonesia is how to ruin the
country (all commonly heard refrains from hard-line Muslims
here). It is not in the voters' interest to be assured that the
next president will act as the champion of Islam.

What they need is an assurance that the next president will be
able to revive the country's economy -- no matter what system he
or she will apply -- to bring more investors to the real sector.

Carter has seen how mature the Indonesian voters are. However,
as long as Indonesia continues to have childish and elitist
politicians, the people will continue to suffer. What the
presidential candidates need to prove is that they are just as
mature and as wise as the voters.

Kornelius Purba (purba@thejakartapost.com) is a staff writer
for The Jakarta Post.