RI polls say democracy a heady brew

RI polls say democracy a heady brew

Thang D. Nguyen, The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore

As Indonesia celebrates its 59th anniversary of independence
last week, it is appropriate to reflect on the democratic
progress it has achieved thus far.

Considering how young democracy is in Indonesia since the end
of the Soeharto era and how long it has taken others to build a
democratic nation, the presidential election this year is
certainly an exemplary one.

On July 5, roughly 153 million Indonesians turned out to
select their next national leader in the first direct
presidential election in the history of the world's largest
Muslim-majority nation.

The Indonesian electorate has shown an appreciation of voting,
a democratic right that is often forbidden or taken for granted
elsewhere in the world.

In dictatorships or non-democratic regimes, voting does not
exist. In other societies, voters may vote, but their mandates
are not accepted by the ruling regimes.

This is certainly the case of Myanmar, where voting was
granted about a decade ago, but its people's overwhelming choice
of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was never acknowledged.
What is more, the junta leadership has yet to release her from
house arrest, despite many calls from the international
community.

It is often forgotten that voting is a luxury not all citizens
can afford.

In other words, voting or political activities, such as
participating in election campaigns, takes time, energy and
resources the poor do not have.

When a voter's main concern is to put food on the table, for
himself or his family, voting is arguably the last thing on his
mind.

As much as he may want to join election campaigns to support
his preferred presidential candidate and vote, economic
conditions simply don't allow him to and, therefore, he is not
necessarily considered politically indifferent.

Political indifference, on the other hand, is a phenomenon in
which an individual's economic conditions allow him to vote, but
he decides not to.

It is either because he is too occupied with other pursuits in
life or simply not interested in politics, based on his belief
that it does not, or will not, make his life any better.

This phenomenon happens in some First World countries in which
most citizens enjoy high standards of living.

For instance, the United States, which considers itself the
democratic beacon of the world, has a relatively low voter
turnout. In the 2000 presidential election, the U.S. voter
turnout rate was just 51 percent. Interestingly enough, this was
a period during which the U.S. economy was doing well.

For Indonesia, where 40 percent of its 220 million people are
unemployed or underemployed, its democratic progress, as seen in
its steady voter turnout rate, is indeed remarkable and
encouraging.

Furthermore, this year's election has shown the Indonesian
electorate to be mature -- if not sophisticated. For the first
time in the nation's history, voters seemed to pay more attention
to issues.

In Indonesia -- like most other Southeast Asian countries --
political culture is, for the most part, personality-based and
traditional authority-oriented.

In other words, apart from money politics, voters are
influenced by a candidate's charisma and advice from tribal heads
or religious leaders when making their electoral decisions.

When asked if they would base their voting rationale on a
candidate's personality or his policy, a June survey conducted by
the International Foundation for Election Systems showed 43
percent of those polled said both factors matter equally.

Among issues of concern to most voters, corruption ranks the
highest.

For this reason, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired general
who was the coordinating minister for political and security
affairs until March, is the most popular candidate. The main
reason is that he is perceived as someone who is still clean, or
bersih in Indonesian.

As a candidate needs more than 50 percent of the votes to win
the election, the results of the July 5 election mean that
retired general Susilo, as Indonesians call him, and incumbent
President Megawati Soekarnoputri will face each other in a final
run-off scheduled for Sept. 20.

Meanwhile, it is also worth noting that there has been
virtually no violence from the time the campaign started in March
till the legislative-level elections in April and election day
itself, when millions of Indonesians turned out to vote.

What is most positive about the Indonesian elections is that
they illustrate not only can democracy exist, but it can also
flourish in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.

Amid raging global debates on whether Islam is compatible with
democracy, Indonesia's democratic process is most encouraging.

However, while Indonesians look forward to next month's run-
off and their next leadership, they need to be reminded that
democracy is not an end in itself.

Rather, it is a means to prosperity, security and job
creation.

This means if the newly elected government can't deliver the
goods as promised during the election campaign, democracy will be
meaningless, and the people will become disillusioned.

As for others around the world who are observing Indonesia's
elections, they, too, need a reminder, which is: Be patient.
Democracy is not instant coffee; and if you don't grow, brew and
serve it right, you will get a nasty drink.

The writer, a former regional manager for Asia at the World
Economic Forum, is a Jakarta-based columnist. His forthcoming
book is The Indonesian Dream: Diversity, Unity And Democracy In
Times Of Distrust.