Political disillusionment shadows presidential election

Political disillusionment shadows presidential election

A continuing coalition of the "axis force" and the Golkar
Party will have dire consequences for the nation, warned Goenawan
Mohamad, former chief editor of Tempo magazine, in an interview
with The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Question: How do you see the emergence of Amien Rais as leader
of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)?

Answer: I think it is good news because he has an unswerving
commitment to democracy and he is well known both nationally and
internationally. Seen from this aspect, we have to feel
fortunate. At the helm, Amien will be able to bring the stature
of MPR up from a longtime low.

Q: Critics say Amien grabbed the top legislative job thanks to
Golkar and the axis force...

A: It seems to me that Golkar has been forgiven by all the people
in this postelection session of the Assembly. And not only
Golkar, even the Indonesian Military. The line between the old
(status quo) and the new (reformist) elements has become blurred.

Q: Could you give us some examples.

A: Look at figures like Ginanjar (Kartasasmita, until recently
coordinating minister for economy, finance and industry) of
Golkar who won the support of Megawati (Soekarnoputri, leader of
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle/PDI Perjuangan) as a
regional group representative. Or Syarwan Hamid (until recently
minister of home affairs), who was alleged to have orchestrated
the July 27, 1996 attack on PDI Perjuangan's headquarters in
Jakarta, won PDI Perjuangan's support as a regional group
representative from Riau. And Amien Rais who accepted Fuad
Bawazier (former minister of finance) as regional representative
even though he is closely associated with the Cendana (Soeharto)
family. Thus, politics truly makes strange bedfellows.

Actually, it is a normal thing in politics for dirty dealings.
The question is how far will it be cleaned, eliminated and not
turned into a habit. But that is sometimes the case in
realpolitik. Anyway, for whoever supports Amien Rais, he really
deserves to be MPR chairman.

Q: What about the political configuration taking shape behind
Amien's election?

A: The problem is that the victory of the axis force plus Golkar
in supporting Amien Rais and also the MPR rulings has alienated
PDI Perjuangan and the National Awakening Party (PKB). This will
have a consequence that should concern us all. What I am very
concerned about is the possibility of Gus Dur (founder of PKB)
becoming president through the support of the axis force and
Golkar. This would mean that the biggest vote getter in the June
7 elections would be alienated from the existing body politic.
And it is difficult to say that this is in line with a sense of
justice.

Q: And it will give rise to...

A: The second point is that the people will be disillusioned
about the elections because their votes will be reduced to
nothing. It is true that the root of the problem is the 1945
Constitution (in which a president is not directly elected by the
people). (President) Habibie has suggested that it be changed,
and we should appreciate his suggestion, but the fact remains
that millions of people will be disappointed and we should never
underestimate it.

Third, post-MPR politics would be colored by a rift between
Islam and non-Islam. Worse still, there would be no check-and-
balance system because the axis force and Golkar would crush the
rest like a bulldozer. No one can check them. Therefore, I really
hope Megawati will emerge as our next president, if need be, with
the help of Golkar and TNI.

Q: You must be a Megawati supporter...

A: Personally I don't like to vote for her because she is not my
ideal type of a head of state, but more than 35 million people
supported her. If she is not elected she will remain a mystical
figure... symbol of a victim. For a democratic society, you must
have a real leader, not a mystical leader. Thus, to give Megawati
a chance to turn herself from a mystical leader into a real
leader, she has to lead the country.

Q: What would happen to Gus Dur then?

A: I appeal to MPR members to consider this and especially Gus
Dur, for he has a commitment to Megawati. Amien's support for her
and also that of the others depend on Gus Dur. If Gus Dur
refuses, it will never happen. Hence, the key lies in the
willingness of Gus Dur to be aware of this. I am fully convinced
that if Gus Dur did not become the president he would still
remain a great man, the guru bangsa (nation's mentor), and we who
remain outside the legislature and the bureaucracy need him more
than this political process needs him. So, please, Gus Dur, stay
with us and don't ever go into the government. Furthermore,
Megawati will be a president in a completely new MPR and DPR with
all the new decrees. They will limit not only her presidential
term but she will also be subjected to more democratic controls,
so why don't we give her a chance?

Q: This has to do with the question of loyalty...

A: There is an old saying, please put less loyalty toward the
party than loyalty to the country. It is an old saying but it is
very relevant today. I support Amien Rais as MPR chairman because
of a broader reason, that is for the betterment of the
motherland. I don't wish to have a political system the National
Mandate Party (PAN, which Amien heads) and its (Muslim group)
allies will have dominant power. We went through a similar bitter
experience in the past where there was no balance of power. On
top of this, we will still have very serious problems like in
Aceh, Irian Jaya and the economic crisis, as well as the economic
repercussions of those problems.

Q: Could you give an example?

A: For instance, if Aceh and Irian Jaya opted to separate from
Indonesia, we would have problems with our resources, such as in
Arun (Aceh), Freeport (Irian). We must have a government that can
hold us together to overcome all these problems, so power-sharing
is crucial albeit without eliminating the idea for loyal
opposition.

Q: If Megawati is not elected president, what will happen?

A: Riots are not what we are afraid of, no, but disillusionment
over the democratic political process. Second, the alienation of
a huge part of the body politic. This alienation is not a good
seed since it is divisive. This factor combined with the problems
facing the nation amount to a step into suicidal actions.

Q: Where do you see the axis force in this political game?

A: Actually, the axis force will not be there without two
opposing ends. The axis force came into being by default because
there was no clear line between the status quo and the reformist
forces. If there was a clear line, there would not be an axis
force.

Q: How come the line is blurred?

A: First, because the reformist parties do not have a common
platform. On the question of East Timor, for instance, PDI
Perjuangan is closer to Golkar, which is a status quo force, than
PAN. The latter is closer to the Democratic People's Party (PRD)
which is considered too radical. Second, there has been a lack in
flexibility in forming alliances (between the reformist parties).
PDI Perjuangan, for example, has been lobbied by PAN and PKB for
a long time to form a common reform movement, but it did not give
a satisfactory response. A number of joint actions failed to
materialize. It is true that PDI Perjuangan has a problem
reaching out.

Q: Why is that?

A: Some say that PDI Perjuangan is suffering from some kind of
"Islam-phobia" as exemplified by people like (Maj. Gen.) Theo
Syafei (the party's vice chairman) which has inhibited PDI
Perjuangan from reaching out. They only rely on PKB but, of
course, the party does not include all Muslim constituencies.

Q: Wasn't Amien the one who actually managed to reach out?

A: Hats off to Amien Rais since he could easily have become a
president had he opted to chair a truly Islamic party rather than
the more inclusive PAN for the sake of a more pluralistic
country.

I really hope that his sacrifice for the motherland will be
consistent. He should be careful not to fall into temptation.

Also, what I really appreciate from Amien, and hopefully he
will still remember this, is when he said that as a leader of a
party that won a mere 7 percent of the vote "I was not eligible
to nominate myself (as a presidential candidate)". The
consequence of this statement is that the (leader of) the party
that won the bigger share of the vote is eligible to become
president.

Q: There are many who accuse Amien Rais of throwing Megawati into
the fold of TNI...

A: I don't buy this accusation because the initiative (for
working together) has always come from PAN. There is a saying,
which I think is true, that history is knocking at the door for
great people to emerge, but those who show up are small
personalities. We are not fortunate enough to have a Mandela.
Thirty-two years of repression, and we still fail to have a
leader who really can become bigger than his or her party, bigger
than his or her own race and who has a good organization and who
knows when to leave power. What kind of people we are...

Q: Isn't it a challenge?

A: It is a challenge for people like Gus Dur and Amien Rais, and
perhaps also Megawati, that if they fail to become a Mandela, at
least they will be magnanimous enough to understand that what is
at stake is the future of the country.

Q: What about the issue of money politics, can't it also serve as
an obstacle to select a good leader?

A: This is a serious malady which is a legacy from the New Order
because there is the principle that everybody can be bought. The
perpetrators will keep on buying (people) in the absence of
public pressure. They don't have loyalty and are unprincipled.
They have a cynical perception of people, that everybody has a
price, but hasn't our experience shown that people can resist?
People like Budiman Sudjatmiko (leader of PRD) and Sri Bintang
Pamungkas (leader of the Indonesian Democratic Union Party)
preferred to be jailed rather than bought. It proves that
Indonesian people are not that bad. True, there are many who are
still bad. Now it depends on how we will overcome this problem:
we have to correct the system, that is to have an open voting
system (for the presidential election).

Q: Are you for an open presidential election system?

A: There are some, like Faisal Basri (PAN secretary-general) who
say that a closed system is better because those who took bribes
could still vote for another candidate without being found out.
But I think an open system is better because one (who has
received a bribe) has to be responsible to the bribe giver and
under a closed system they could rescind their responsibilities.
Under an open system, the people will know who voted for whom and
they should explain to the people why they chose Habibie or
Megawati or whoever.

Q: What do you think about the political behavior of the military
so far?

A: They have been behaving very well, we should appreciate that.
They are neutral but I am tempted to think that should Megawati
be pushed to the wall they would support her, again, for
the sake of the nation. It would not be easy for PDI Perjuangan
but everybody has a drawback. Only then should the military go
(leave politics). Their existence (in the legislature) is
irreversible. They even have more seats than PAN. As it is
irreversible, let's make the best of it. The military should make
a good departure after all their terrible exits in East Timor,
Aceh and elsewhere. At least in the legislature it must be a good
exit. (hbk)