Lessons learned

Lessons learned

As an American businessman who loves Indonesia, I read with great interest Mochtar Buchori's attempt to interpret for Indonesian readers what is happening in the U.S. Republican Presidential primary elections. I agree with his premise: "CNN coverage...can serve to boost our political maturity." Unfortunately, his understanding of American politics is flawed. Thus, Buchori misses the major lessons from our primary season that would help answer his main question: "Are we ready to treat the Indonesian electorate in a new and more democratic way?"

The two lessons he draws, lessons regarding "one of us" and "negative campaigning", are not irrelevant but they are minor. The major lesson is that the American political system is more open and competitive than the Indonesian. Perhaps Buchori has seen this lesson illustrated by the failure of one of his predictions -- that Forbes was "knocked out of the race". Primary election voters and open party caucuses determine who a Presidential nominee will be. Then the president is elected by the voters through a general election, not by Congress.

It is the open and competitive nature of the process that explains the results in the New Hampshire primary, for example, not the reaction to negative campaigning claimed by Buchori. New Hampshire is one of those states where independent voters (those not registered with a party) can choose to vote in either party's primary.

The value of an open and competitive political process may be questioned by advocates of "Asian values", but they will find themselves on weak ground. Economic development and democracy are not substitutes, they are dynamic complements -- they support and reinforce one another. A rigid political system tends to harden the economic arteries. A country which cannot tolerate competition domestically is more likely to lose international competitive races.

As another recent headline in your paper announced: "Democracy is worth struggling for". I look forward to Indonesia becoming a truly democratic country which combines the best political features of your country, e.g. Pancasila, and my country, e.g. Lincoln's "government of the people, for the people and by the people." I look forward to being a sympathetic observer of your 1997 Presidential selection process, just as Buchori is observing ours now in 1996.

PETER BEARSE

Jakarta