PDI rifts shows up lack of democracy

PDI rifts shows up lack of democracy

By Asip Agus Hasani

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Cornelis LAY, a political scientist based at
Gadjah Mada University's Inter-University Center, once described
Indonesian politics as having a "barbarian" face because of the
ever-decreasing opportunities made available to common people to
express their opinions.

He believes, however, that in the internal conflict currently
ravaging the minority Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), ordinary
people have managed to carve out a niche and be more involved
than usual because they identify with ousted leader Megawati
Soekarnoputri.

"Even inhabitants of the Code riverbank here have an opinion
on the PDI conflict," he told The Jakarta Post recently.

Cornelis is known for his astute analyses of Indonesian
political parties' success in promoting democratization. When
speaking about the dominant organization, Golkar, and the Moslem-
based United Development Party (PPP), Cornelis' remarks are
usually thorough and to the point.

But when he turns to the prolonged PDI conflict, it not only
quickly becomes apparent his sympathy lies with Megawati but that
he also sees many of the party's problems stemming from the
government's stance and the chairman it backed, Soerjadi.

"Trust me. Government intervention in PDI will continue after
the 1997 general election. The election will not (be a great
success) for PDI because Soerjadi does not play a determining
role within the party."

In a recent article he wrote for the Kompas daily, Cornelis
called the "PDI tragedy" a "reflection of the grimness of
Indonesian politics values." The makeup of the established
political order indicated a massive decline in the nation's
political ethics, he said.

He said Indonesian politics had a barbarian face because of
the domination of certain political interests groups seeking
instant gratification from short term objectives.

In the PDI conflict, "we are witnessing how the use of common
sense in our political management is declining. There's not one
incident in the PDI dispute that can be comprehended clearly," he
said.

People's quest for knowledge and understanding of what caused
the prolonged conflict and why the government is meddling in the
minority party is also being blocked. "Nobody is really learning
anything about the issue except from speculation and rumors," he
asserted.

Cornelis told the Post that matters in Indonesia are mostly
viewed from the perspective of the state. Members of the public
are not usually given the opportunity to present their own views.

The PDI case, however, has been different. Despite evidence of
overwhelming government pressure to control the party, "people
still managed to create a niche for themselves from which they
could express their opinions."

As an example he said that even slum and riverbank dwellers in
Yogyakarta are emotionally involved in the rivalry between
Soerjadi and Megawati.

"Indonesian politics can be monitored from the street, from
the talk of pedicab and taxi drivers, from the narrow alleys of
crowded urban slum areas, and from people marginalized from the
centralized state power.

"Politically speaking they are never given the opportunity to
express themselves; they are always there to be manipulated and
mobilized by the powerful. But all of a sudden, they have
discovered their fate is similar to PDI's so they have identified
with the party."

He said the PDI conflict has involved not only the common
people but also the upper layers of society. "Everybody, from the
President down to neighborhood chiefs, has at one time or another
been involved in mediating in the PDI conflict. The energy
expended by the state (in handling the PDI conflict) has been
tremendous!"

Qualifications

Cornelis is well qualified to discuss PDI. His undergraduate
thesis was titled "The development of PDI from 1973 to 1986 and
its prospects as a sociopolitical force."

He obtained a near perfect grade of 3.97 from Gadjah Mada
University's School of Social and Political Sciences and was
named the best graduate of 1987.

He spent 23 months of 1986 and 1987 researching his thesis.
For it he met and interviewed 40 prominent PDI figures, including
the party's founders, to learn their views of its problems.

It was through these contacts, he admitted, that a feeling of
involvement in the party developed.

"I became attracted to the PDI figures who had held their own
despite facing great pressures from the government," he said.

Afterward, Cornelis felt he had forged a special affinity for
PDI to the extent that some colleagues doubted his objectivity in
his assessment of the party. "Perhaps I could not be neutral. I
spoke more for PDI than about it," he admitted.

Poverty

Cornelis said he once wanted to become a journalist.

"I thought it would be a suitable vocation for a person like
me as I would be able to travel a lot," said the jeans-clad
lecturer. On graduating however he was offered a lecturing
position.

"I have gradually started to enjoy my work as a lecturer. It
allow me to continue to think," the 37-year old bachelor from
Sabu Island, East Nusa Tenggara, said.

On campus, Cornelis is called either Cony or Ney, and is known
to be very close to his students. In fact, he still lives in a
dormitory for East Nusa Tenggara students.

Fellow lecturers have suggested he should look for
accommodation elsewhere, away from his students, in order to
maintain his more senior status. "Such an outlook complicates
matters. It should not be necessary for lecturers to live
separately from students," he said.

Cornelis obtained his master's degree at St. Mary's
University, Halifax, Canada in 1991. For that his thesis was
titled: "Development in Indonesia: A Study of Regional
Disparities."

He admits to being close to people at the grassroots level.
This is because he was born and raised in a poor family in an
equally poor environment. "My friends did not study beyond junior
high school."

Cornelis' parents were traders on the fringe of a market in
Sabu, and had to support five children including Cornelis, their
fourth child. They paid hardly any attention to their children's
education.

Cornelis had to turn his arm to many things to stay in school.
"I often slept under the eaves of shops when I was at elementary
school," he recalled. On holidays and Sundays he used to work as
a construction laborer.

This early experience with poverty has made him feel more
sympathetic for people at the grassroots. It also makes him
especially attentive to problems in grassroots society.