Politician who befriended defeat

Politician who befriended defeat

In one political discussion at Bentara Budaya, Jakarta,
Soebadio Sastrosatomo, a figure of the Indonesian Socialist Party
who passed away yesterday (Dec. 7), was jokingly dubbed by Dr.
Roeslan Abdulgani a "perennially losing" politician.

Now we have to decide whether the late Soebadio was indeed a
perennial loser or one who opted to lose his battle -- one who
preferred defeat to victory by compromising the principles of his
political struggle and his conscience.

It is almost unbelievable that Soebadio chose a career in
politics while showing a reluctance to accept -- even reject --
power. His political attitude was that of upholding values and
fighting to translate these values into reality rather than
attaching themselves to power. His was the politics of values,
not the politics of power.

A political attitude free from attachment to power is suitable
for the present reform era. Those subjected to reform are the
principle of power, the tendency of attachment to power, and the
abuse of power.

At this juncture, democracy must be viewed as a principle of
power in which the power itself is accountable, is employed to
protect the interests of the entire people and is ready to be
replaced any time. Regarding the last of these, a culture of
democratic power will be one that is free from any attachment to
power per se. Otherwise, reform means only a change in agents,
not in performance.

Soebadio Sastrosatomo was admirable in that he was willing to
be marginalized in the sense of the politics of power; yet he
maintained his presence as a strategic focus of the struggle of
values. He consistently performed his activities in the realm of
idealism and values. That was his choice and we respect him for
that choice.

-- Kompas, Jakarta