Mass vs mob politics

Since the student-led people's movement brought down the long- ruling regime of president Soeharto in May 1998, mobilizing the masses has come to be seen by many as a potent weapon in pushing their political agendas. So prevalent has this tactic become, street demonstrations are now beginning to reach the point of undermining the reform process itself.

In recent weeks, we have witnessed street protests in Jakarta where terror and intimidation were employed, such as during demonstrations to demand the closure of night spots during Ramadhan. In Mataram, Lombok, a rally to show solidarity with the victims of violence in Maluku turned into an orgy of burning and looting.

In view of the increasing threat to peace and order, it is understandable that some people are now calling for restrictions or an outright ban on protests, rallies and other activities which involve the mobilization of the masses. Amien Rais, the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, has come out for an end to the demonstrations, notwithstanding that he, like many of today's politicians, owes his position largely to the people's movement that brought down the previous regime.

A fine line divides peaceful demonstrations, such as the student protests that brought Soeharto down, and riotous and intimidating protests -- what some people aptly call "mob politics". To ban the one, the government would also have to ban the other.

Amien's plea to stop all rallies, as much as it makes sense from a security point of view, however, will only play into the hands of the military. If history is any guide, banning street demonstrations is the beginning of the end of democracy. In 1966, Soeharto, then a general in the Army, was swept into power with the help of a student-led people's movement against president Sukarno. A few years later, Soeharto ordered the military to crack down on students who were protesting against his policies. From that point until 1998, democracy was dead in this country.

For all the negative excesses, demonstrations remain the most powerful and effective means for people to channel their aspirations. The right to demonstrate, the hallmark of the current reform era, must be defended at all costs.

This is particularly true in light of the fact that the country's political institutions are not yet well developed or fully functional. Once these institutions reach a level of maturity, the people will have other avenues to voice their demands and aspirations, and therefore will no longer need to mobilize for mass rallies.

The fact that many people continue to demonstrate, for whatever cause, suggests that political institutions and their lines of communications to the grass roots do not function effectively. This is in spite of a general election in June contested by dozens of political parties representing almost the entire political spectrum in our society.

One would have thought such a general election, which produced no conclusive winner, would be representative of a nation as diverse as Indonesia. The election may have been the most democratic Indonesia has ever held, but obviously it was not democratic enough to produce a truly representative government.

The discontent expressed in the endless street demonstrations tells us that some, if not all, of the elected politicians, both at the national and local levels, remain oblivious to the wishes of their constituents. If they had been more sensitive to the people's aspirations, they would have championed their issues and causes before they felt it necessary to take to the streets. Many, though not all, of the street protests would have thus been unnecessary, and the problems associated with the demonstrations would have been prevented.

For all the talk of reform, our political institutions and culture have changed very little, judging from the failure of the political elite to act on the aspirations of the people. This suggests one of two things: either the June election, which was hastily prepared, was defective and failed to reflect the entire political spectrum; or the elected politicians have simply not performed up to expectations.

If the first is true, this suggests the need for another election, this time properly prepared. If the second is true, then our elected politicians must get out of their cozy seats in national and local legislatures, pull their acts together and start working for their constituents.