Pushing toward change
Pushing toward change
As the legislative elections on April 5 draw closer, fears of
a reemergence of authoritarian rule in the style of the
corruption-riddled New Order regime of deposed president Soeharto
appear to be gaining in strength among the doomsayers in
Indonesia's prodemocracy movement. And, to be sure, a few signals
that have appeared in recent weeks seem to give at least some
ground for such gloom.
A well-known maxim of political theory contends that, in order
for the renewal of an existing political system to occur
smoothly, it must accommodate elements from the regime that is to
be replaced. That appears to be what has happened in Indonesia
during the past five years under the so-called reformasi
movement, which students and pro-democracy activists spearheaded
in 1997.
The problem is that, over those past five years, the camp of
pro-democracy reformers has shown itself to be sadly lacking in a
leadership strong and capable enough to push the democratization
process towards its goal of building a sound and credible civil
society, without wasting too much time and energy. At the same
time, the reform movement has been facing a well-established and
well-organized contender eager to reestablish its hold on the
country. The recent statement made by retired Army Gen. Hartono
that "those who are against the New Order are against (the state
philosophy) Pancasila," is a timely reminder of how leaders and
backers of the old regime still see themselves as guardians of
the state and the state ideology.
Some arguments that have been made by New Order elements to
disparage the incumbent regime are difficult to challenge.
Poverty and corruption still thrive, or have become worse, as
some critics allege. Security and stability have improved, but
only at the cost of restoring some of the powers the military had
lost at the start of the reform movement.
The other side of the coin, of course, is that substantial
progress has been made on the road to democratization. All
criticism notwithstanding, the General Elections Commission (KPU)
has done a pretty good job of setting the stage for elections on
both the legislative, the presidential and the vice-presidential
levels. The main task at this particular point is to explain the
steps and procedures that voters will have to follow in the
forthcoming elections -- with special emphasis on the legislative
elections, which will take place on April 5.
There are very real fears the new procedures may confuse
voters, especially the less-educated, who are used to being
presented with a sheet of paper imprinted simply with the symbols
of the various parties contesting the general elections. In the
so-called "open proportional" system that will be applied in the
upcoming election, voters will also have to choose from among a
list of photographs of candidates, some -- or most -- of whom may
be unfamiliar to them.
With less than three months now remaining until voting day, no
time should be lost educating the voters and making sure that all
the rules and regulations are well understood. Provided the
General Elections Commission and the Election Supervisory
Committee continue to do their job with the dedication and
commitment they have displayed so far, we see little reason to
doubt that the forthcoming elections will constitute a step
forward in the process of democratization and toward the building
of a healthy civil society in this country.