PDI-P yet to learn about democratic basics

PDI-P yet to learn about democratic basics

One of the biggest Indonesian political parties which bears
the name of democracy, the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), is holding its congress in Semarang.
The Jakarta Post talked with Mochtar Buchori, columnist and
deputy chairman of the party, about democracy.

Question: Why should the issue of leader always feature
prominently every time an organization holds a congress?

Answer: It is the nation's culture. We glorify symbolic values
above functional values. A chairperson is a symbol of power, but
very few people assess their own capacity to lead against the
tasks that lie ahead.

The obsession with symbolic values does not occur solely in
politics but also in other fields, such as education, as the
public's appetite for college titles attests.

Is this a typical Indonesian phenomenon?

In developed democracies candidates assess their capacity and
study their future tasks beforehand. But in less developed
democracies the benchmark is closeness to power. We are actually
still in a transition to democracy.

How can we evolve into a mature democracy?

With nothing other than political education. At this moment
most of us perceive democracy solely as a political concept. So
democracy applies only in political life, outside it there is no
business with democracy.

This is wrong because democracy is a way of life. How I treat
my driver is a matter of democracy, how I treat my students is
also a matter of democracy. It is a measure of to what extend I
am following democratic values.

It is a way of life?

Yes, it is. For a Javanese like me, who was nurtured in a
feudal setting, it is very difficult to convert myself into a
democrat. I consider myself a democrat, but still a lot of the
residue of feudal values stays with me.

So you are fighting against yourself?

That is so, in all consciousness. You are being conscious of
what you are doing.

You are a very honest man.

I am Javanese, my housemaid is Javanese. If my maid spoke in
less than subtle Javanese to me I would be irritated. Isn't it
feudal? It is still within me. I have to fight against it.

Certainly it has many good aspects, but isn't feudalism only
one facet of Javanese culture?

Yes, there are good aspects as well. The problem in handling
cultural transformation is which values should you preferably
maintain, modify or abandon entirely and replace with new values?
And where you take the new values from?

Because I received a Western education, I tend to look for
replacement in Western culture as compared to santri (Muslim
scholars) who look for them in the repertoire of Islamic values.
What is important is the awareness of rethinking certain values
we were brought up with.

If we look at our political culture, it is very feudalistic.
Subordinates can never openly disagree with their superiors. It
is just not feasible in Indonesia. The question is in what way
can we express our disagreement.

Indonesian bureaucratic culture is obsessed with politeness.
Isn't this Javanese (culture)? You may be corrupt but if you are
polite you will be alright. You may be clean but if you are
impolite you get into trouble. Meritocracy is nonexistent in this
nation.

Going back to your Western education background, you may have
a different outlook from those brought up with Islamic
credentials.

Yes, for instance, the way we look at democracy. There are
some who say that it is impossible for Islam to accept democracy
because Islam already has a system called syura which is regarded
as the equivalent to democracy.

But, actually, the core of democracy is the sovereignty of the
people whereas syura is a council of leaders of the people and
not the people themselves. So it is not equal.

Similarly, the term masyarakat madani is not equal to civil
society. There are similarities but they are not identical.

How do they differ?

In civil society, society gives opportunities to its members
to organize themselves. There are things taken care of by the
family units and things by the government. In between there is a
space where the government doesn't meddle. This is the space of
civil society.

How can we keep the environment clean without citizens'
participation? If the citizens do not restrain themselves from
throwing their garbage into rivers, pollution will keep
happening. The same with the forest fires in Sumatra.

And masyarakat madani?

Masyarakat madani originates in Madinah. Prior to becoming an
Islamic state, there was a Christian minority and the prophet
said they were equal to the Muslim faithful. But when Madinah
became an Islamic country they were treated as a protected
minority and had to pay taxes for protection.

Masyarakat madani is a civilized society, thus the concept is
different. Its emphasis is on civilizing the entire society,
while civil society emphasizes the rule of the citizens. There is
a parallel but it is not the same.

Nurcholish Madjid (a noted Muslim intellectual) once said he
preferred to use the term masyarakat madani to put an Islamic
'color' on it. Well, giving 'color' does not touch the substance
of an issue.

How to fill the gap in harmonizing a nation?

Dialog is needed. Humanistic values are the meeting point.

Has there been any dialog between the two groupings?

No, every attempt at dialog has ended in disarray because the
elite is politically immature. Isn't democracy as we have it now
being abused? There is no difference between democracy and
intimidation. So the basic notion of democracy should be well
understood, especially by PDI Perjuangan. (hbk)