No panacea for election campaign violence
The continuing violence, especially in Central and East Java, has concerned many people. Political scientist Arbi Sanit from the Jakarta-based University of Indonesia talks to The Jakarta Post about the issue.
Question: How do you see this phenomenon?
Answer: I think there has been a shift from mass social riots into mass political ones especially at the grassroots level.
Mass social riots, as you see, are triggered by three major things: problems of poverty and disparity, problems of bureaucracy and problems of legal certainty. These have become very acute problems for those at the grassroots level, because they see no way out. As a result, after facing these problems for almost 30 years, they experience a sense of dissatisfaction, deprivation and even frustration.
These unpleasant feelings can easily explode into a form of violence anytime and by any small amount of provocation. Personal quarrels, humiliation by religious teachings or a kyai (Islamic preacher), beatings by police, etc., are capable of driving people to riot. Such is what happened recently when there was disobedience of political ethics in the Central Java city of Pekalongan.
What happened in Pekalongan was nothing less than people humiliating other party supporters. As you see, Pekalongan is a strong base for the United Development Party (PPP). Golkar's leaders who held a mass rally without notifying local PPP figures was seen as a humiliating action.
Moreover, the mass rally involved a famous dangdut singer, Rhoma Irama, who was previously a well-known PPP campaigner. This sparked the anger of local people.
Therefore, the humiliation, and the disobedience of political norms and ethics, caused the mass riots.
Q: But there is no written regulation or agreement on norms and ethics, is there?
A: That's right. Ethics and norms are not written down. However, there should be an understanding about such things, otherwise parties will do things just as they want. The Pekalongan case has proven that ignorance about such things can trigger mass violence.
Of course you have to keep in mind that the basic drive behind such violence are the three factors I mentioned before. Those acute problems show that almost anything can trigger violence. That's the core problem.
If nothing is done about it, I'm afraid additional violence will occur in the future. People won't be afraid of anything, including prison terms, or even death threats. Nothing will stop them.
Q: What has to be done then?
A: Since problems underlying such violence are ingrained, not much can be done to welcome a peaceful election. As you see, the election will take place in only a few weeks. There is no way to heal 30 years of suffering people have endured in just one month.
The best thing that can be done is probably to give promises to the people.
Q: What promises?
A: Promises that the government will do something to solve these acute problems. The recent decision to handle the poverty problem on a national scale, for instance, is a good example. Even though there was nothing new to it, since there were no practical steps to accomplish it, but it was still a good step. It just needs to be focused.
What we need, therefore, are basic policies that take sides with the poverty eradication program, such as giving priority to the development of slum areas rather than to areas close to government officials' residences. Such steps would help eliminate people's frustration.
Q: What about campaigning activities? Can anything be done about them?
A: In this case, it would be better for Golkar to keep quiet about its target of votes. It's okay to say that they are determined to win the election but not the number of votes they could acquire. This applies not only to Golkar chairman Harmoko, but also to other Golkar cadres throughout the country. This will defuse tension among societal groups, because every party member won't feel pressure from their superior to gain votes as much as possible.
Q: Some said that what surprised them most was the fact that violence occurred at a point in time when Golkar has a lower profile. How do you explain this?
A: As I said, anything can spark violence these days, because of the three acute problems in society. Even though Golkar seems to have been slowing down -- not at the grassroots level -- the violence keeps occurring.
So let's not put more stress on society and avoid anything that can add additional stress. What some Golkar leaders have done, by demonstrating their proximity to certain influential religious leaders like Gus Dur (leader of the 30-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama), for example, has caused stress on PPP members. Golkar visits to PPP strongholds in Central Java have also had similar effects.
Q: How do you explain the fact that such violence is only happening in Central and East Java and not in other regions?
A: It's in the two regions that Golkar lost a significant amount of votes in the previous election. That's why they launched heavy campaigns in the two areas. Everything is done to reclaim lost votes, including using public figures and launching the so-called "yellowization" program (painting public utilities yellow, which is the party color of Golkar).
It's unfortunate that certain local governments, like the one in the Central Java city of Surakarta, sometimes overreact. They seem to forget that they are the government of all people and not just of a particular party. (swa)