PDI coming of age?
PDI coming of age?
Sighs of relief are no doubt being heaved all across
Indonesia, and around the power centers in Jakarta in particular,
that the fifth party congress of PDI Perjuangan -- the Megawati-
led faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party -- ended in Bali
over the weekend without any unrest worth mentioning.
Indeed, instead of turning into an arena of chaos and trouble
and scaring away dollar-carrying tourists, as many government
officials in Jakarta (though not in Bali) had feared, the event
generally proceeded without any major hitches and even provided a
welcome additional attraction for visitors to this world-renowned
island resort.
That reality could serve as proof that the PDI under Megawati
Soekarnoputri's leadership is or at least can be if given the
chance, a well-organized and well-disciplined organization,
capable of making a valuable contribution to the nation's efforts
to build a healthy functioning democracy in this part of the
world. To organize an event on such a grand scale and control
such huge crowds of fanatical party supporters is certainly no
mean feat to accomplish.
Even so, the government's fears of possible public
disturbances during the congress in Bali, and the authorities'
warnings that the congress organizers would be held responsible
for any trouble that might erupt during the event, cannot be
simply dismissed as attempts to make things difficult for PDI
Perjuangan.
It is after all an undeniable fact that most, if not all, PDI
congresses in the past few decades were accompanied by violent
clashes between factions. While this was in part a result of the
fact that the party was born of a government-imposed fusion of
minor parties during the repressive New Order regime, and for
another part because of government intervention in the internal
affairs of political parties, the fact remains that the violence
sparked tension and anxiety in the community.
Given such a background, the smooth running of last week's PDI
Perjuangan congress in Bali could be taken as a welcome
indication that the party may now, after so many years, finally
have outgrown its growing pains. This is not an unreasonable
assumption to make since over the years a younger generation of
leaders and activists has emerged to blur the old factional lines
of division.
To bolster such an assumption, many of the debates that were
conducted during the congress and many of the decisions that were
taken seem to indicate the party may indeed have ended its long
adolescence and begun to emerge as a modern, open party on the
Indonesian political stage. Worth mentioning in this context is
the realization and the willingness of congress participants to
accept that strategic posts such as that of the party's
secretary-general should be given to someone with a modern,
forward-looking vision and a good comprehension of all the wide-
ranging problems of the times.
Of no less importance is the party's willingness to
restructure itself in such a way as to enhance its maneuvering
agility in view of the upcoming general elections. In many ways
the PDI Perjuangan has through this Bali congress effectively
dispelled allegations that it is unfit to lead the nation in this
modern age of globalization.
After this Bali congress, for certain, it will be impossible
for anyone -- the authorities included -- to dismiss PDI
Perjuangan as being a minor force whose role in Indonesian
politics can be ignored. The party has proven itself worthy of
being given its rightful place in society.
On the other hand, this being the indisputable reality, it is
part of the newly elected PDI leadership's responsibility to
cooperate as much as it can with other political parties and
groups as well as with the authorities, in order to establish a
better, more democratic Indonesia for this and for future
generations of Indonesians. It would be a great pity and a great
loss to the nation if the potential of such an impressive
organization should be wasted.