'National politics resembles shadow boxing'

'National politics resembles shadow boxing'

As May's general election nears, people are anticipating
important political events to unfold. Sociologist Arief Budiman
analyzes the nature of politics in Indonesia.

SALATIGA, Central Java (JP): Politics in Indonesia is like
shadow boxing: a battle of symbols. One never attacks an
opponent's real power, but hits the symbols of that power.

So too our nation is governed by symbols, many of which have
little substance. Let me elaborate.

We have a House of Representatives in which some members are
elected and many are appointed every five years (if we talk about
the People's Consultative Assembly). However, should they
"misbehave," a political mechanism is there to unseat them, even
if they are from non-government parties.

When people have grievances they often go to this state
institution that supposedly represents them. And often
legislators are available to listen.

Then, if necessary, the House will ask the relevant cabinet
minister to testify. Statements by the minister are published in
the media and, usually, that's the end of it.

But people keep coming to the House.

Today more people are going to the National Human Rights
Commission, not because it is more powerful but because the
three-year old body is more ready to hand down critical
evaluations.

Legally, the House has more power to scrutinize the
government's performance than the commission, which has only a
moral power. The Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and
Security, Gen. Soesilo Soedarman, recently accused the commission
of going too far by trying to involve itself in solving problems
relating to alleged human rights violations. The commission has
had to take a step back, to do their "proper" job.

People keep coming to either the House or the commission,
knowing full well there is only a slight possibility they will
receive assistance; many come as a symbolic gesture to express
their protest.

An example can be seen in the aftermath of Megawati's ousting
as head of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). Megawati has
taken the case to the court, where it is publicly known there is
practically no chance to win against the government. However,
Megawati instructed PDI branches across Indonesia to do the same.
In each trial -- though especially in Jakarta -- PDI supporters
have been mobilized to give support, as if there were hope of
victory.

For those who don't understand Indonesian political culture,
these actions seem futile and incomprehensible. They are absurd,
like Sisyphus pushing the rock to the top of the mountain, only
to be kicked down again by Zeus.

The PDI is conducting a symbolic political opposition,
attacking the legitimacy of the government's actions and exposing
the unfairness of their intervention.

Another case of the use of symbols in our nation's political
dialog is the recent white-washing of traffic signs in Solo by
members of the United Development Party (PPP), earlier painted
black and yellow by Golkar. Yellow is the color of Golkar, and
traffic signs the world over are black and white. In spite of
this, the regional government chose to repainted them yellow.

Everybody knows this is a disguised early campaign by Golkar
and explains the PPP's action. The mayor of Solo threatened to
take the case to court, but the local PPP -- aware of popular
support -- said they were ready to face a legal battle.

This is another case of shadow boxing. Although the PPP may
have won the battle, the victory is still in the realm of the
symbol and does not change Golkar's real power. Or perhaps it
does, and Golkar and the government are slowly losing both their
legitimacy and the trust of the people.

The general election has been dubbed "the festival of
democracy". There are many festivals during the election campaign
(or there were until recently, when the government prohibited
mass public rallies for the coming election), but very little
democracy. The general election is more a symbol of democracy, a
ritual with little substance. Nevertheless, people still join in
enthusiastically, as if it were a festival.

The present trial of the PRD leaders also continues to loom
large in the nation's psyche. There was not enough evidence to
support the initial charges of organizing the July 27 riots for
which they were arrested. The leaders have now been put on trial
because their organization did not state Pancasila as its basic
principle. For this, they have been accused of conducting
subversive activities against the state.

Pancasila is a symbol, its substance manifested in the deeds
performed by people or an organization: this is the exact line
PRD defense attorneys have taken. They have said even if the PRD
did not have Pancasila as its basic principle, its stated program
to help workers and promote democracy in Indonesia were the
components of Pancasila. However, it is unlikely this line of
argument would be taken seriously by the court, because in the
present political culture, the government treats symbols as
importantly -- if not more importantly -- than substance. Both
the government and its opponents are playing the same game:
shadow boxing and battling in the realm of symbols.

So, what we now get is the symbol of political participation
by the people in the form of House, the symbol of democratic
process in the form of a general election, the symbol of the rule
of law in the form of court processes. All lack real substance.
However, as Javanese philosophy dictates, we are very lucky
because we at least have symbols. Substance will come in due
time, conclude the ever-optimistic Javanese.

Unfortunately, we have now been waiting for 30 years.

The writer is a noted Indonesian sociologist and researcher.