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