People forgotten as politicians begin campaigns

People forgotten as politicians begin campaigns

Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta,
korpur@yahoo.com

Self-proclaimed presidential candidate Amien Rais recently had
a comical experience when his hosts dressed him like a Chinese
emperor during a Chinese New Year celebration in the business
district of Harco Mangga Dua in West Jakarta.

"This grand attire is too big," Amien joked.

Hopefully, nobody took it that his oversized outfit was an
indication that Amien's presidential ambition was too big for him
to achieve.

Many of Amien's supporters, including some of his hosts at the
celebration, believe that it is only a matter before he occupies
Merdeka Palace.

Amien, speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly and
chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), is widely regarded
as the strongest contender, so far, against President Megawati
Soekarnoputri in next year's general election.

Election fever, especially for president and vice president,
has hit major political parties, like Megawati's Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Vice President
Hamzah Haz's United Development Party (PPP) and PAN.

Golkar, the second largest faction in the House of
Representatives, has not indicated its interest, mainly because
its chairman Akbar Tandjung has been convicted for corruption but
is awaiting the outcome of an appeal with the Supreme Court.

Now the political parties are reportedly busy collecting
donations from private companies and from lucrative state-owned
firms like Pertamina.

A top executive of state electricity firm PLN recently
disclosed that political parties tried all sort of approaches to
secure funds for the elections.

The House is still deliberating bills on general elections and
presidential elections after passing a law on political parties.
The bills are still far from completion, while a general election
is scheduled for next year and major political parties are busy
preparing as though the elections are only a few weeks away.

It seems that only minor technicalities are holding up the
bills. Legislators appear to be little interested in ensuring
that the general election and presidential election will be
democratic, because that could endanger their own political
existence. Small political parties are demanding a more
transparent electoral system, but who is listening to them?

Cabinet ministers are also affected by election fever. Some of
the ministers concede that the elections are a very important
factor when it comes to issuing government policies, from the
importation of sugar to the trials of corrupt government
officials and human rights violators. Any small mistake is enough
for the parties to embarrass a minister when their vested-
interests are intruded upon.

Megawati has publicly announced that she will not give up the
presidential seat willingly and has challenged her opponents to
concentrate on defeating her next year instead of trying to
sabotage her current government.

Interestingly the strongest opposition against her political
ambition is not from her political rivals but from her own
family. Her youngest sister, Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, has
repeatedly said that Megawati has no capability to lead the
country. She may feel that she deserves the presidential seat
more than Megawati, even though Rachmawati herself does not have
an impressive record.

Other names appear in the media or are being bandied about,
not just among the political elite but also by housewives. Some
say the incumbent coordinating minister for political and
security affairs, Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is a
potential candidate. Former Indonesian Military commander
Gen.(ret.) Wiranto is also often mentioned. However, neither
Susilo or Wiranto are supported by a major political party, and
the election bill does not allow independents to run.

Elections are still more than 12 months away. Amid economic
hardships, people need to survive. They cannot wait for
politicians to fulfill their promises to create a prosperous
Indonesia. Victims of flood and landslide fail to attract the
government's attention.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea, for
instance, is more busy attacking Sony's decision to close its
plant here than visiting transmigrants who have had to abandon
their farms in Aceh. Seeking a strategy to ensure Megawati's
victory may also be more tempting for him rather than visiting
victims of famine in his own province of East Nusa Tenggara.

In the rush to prepare for elections, politicians and
officials barely have time to attend to the miserable fate of the
millions of farmers whose crops have failed because of flood, or
because they cannot afford fertilizer.

Ordinary Indonesians understand very well the "preelection
behavior" of politicians -- from Megawati to Amien -- who tend to
suddenly empathize with the people and act like a generous prince
or princess from another planet. They give the poor a small
amount of rice or other forms of charity, and offer them empty
promises ahead of elections.

But do not underestimate ordinary Indonesians. They are wiser
than the politicians and will punish those who betray their
trust. Ahead of the 1999 general election, international and
national media predicted that the polls would be marred by
violence because people were not prepared for democratic
elections.

Yet Indonesia had a very peaceful general election. And after
that what happened with the new breed of politicians, like
Megawati? Their behavior has gone in the same direction as
Soeharto's, and after a time they learned to ignore the people
who voted for them. And they become involved in corruption -- to
a degree even worse than their predecessors, some say. Voters
will very likely punish such politicians next year. What will the
sentence be? Let's wait another year: Do not be too impatient.