Most Jakartans uninterested in politics

Most Jakartans uninterested in politics

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Research suggests that 66.3 percent of people living in the city
have yet to participate in political activities, especially those
concerned with policy-making.

The results of a survey conducted by the Institute for Civil
Society (INCIS) on Jakarta's socio-political participation were
published in a book launched on Tuesday.

The survey shows that 97.1 percent of Jakartans have never
been involved in a political assembly with people from different
political affiliations, 72 percent of people have never attended
a political discussion and 94.7 percent are not members of a
political party.

Moreover, 98.5 percent of residents have never generated nor
distributed political pamphlets, while 93.4 percent claim that
they have never participated in a demonstration.

The research also indicates that residents are not involved in
policy-making, especially by the city administration.

The research concluded that since more than 50 percent of
residents are not involved in political activities, the
government's conduct has escaped public scrutiny.

Of particular concern, 95.8 percent of residents do not trust
the government and 84.4 percent believe that the government is
incapable of solving Jakarta's problems.

Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra, a member of INCIS' founding
council, said in the book's foreword that there was a ongoing
process which was counteractive to the development of civil
society and that the research had attempted to identify specific
problems in order to propose solutions.

INCIS recommended that social and political trust should come
first through cultural development, eventually leading to a more
politically aware society.

The non-governmental organization also proposed that the
authorities encourage more voluntary groups to heighten people's
social and political awareness.

The survey was taken by 480 residents of Jakarta, from 30
subdistricts, in five municipalities across the city, between
Sept. 2002 and Feb. 2003.

Moreover, 57.5 percent of the respondents claimed that they
earned below Rp 500,000 (approximately US$58.82) a month and only
39.5 percent were high school graduates.

INCIS' research was assisted by the Civil Society Support and
Strengthening Program (CSSP)-United States Agency for
International Development (USAID).