Ryaas Rasyid's party proclaims real meaning of autonomy

Anton Doni, Head, Research and Development Unit, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Among the main architects of Indonesia's regional autonomy, once referred to as the world's largest experiment in governance, is Ryaas Rasyid, former minister of regional autonomy and former minister of administrative reforms under the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid.

Previously rector of the Institute for Public Administration (IIP), Ryaas has now set up the United Democratic Nationhood (PPDK) with colleagues, including Andi Alfian Mallarangeng, also known for his expertise in administration studies, apart from his popular presence in talk shows and even a few commercials. Andi leads the party with Ryaas as president. Both completed their doctorates in the United States -- Andi at the University of Illinois, and Ryaas at the University of Hawaii.

The party of intellectuals will still need to build up an attractive campaign to sell its concepts, most notably its fiery defense of regional autonomy. In 2002 Ryaas published his book, Rejecting recentralization of the government.

It is the current implementation of the law, the party activists insist, that has brought on all its unintended excesses that people blame on the experiment itself. The PPDK also warns against trends of returning power to the center, away from the spirit of regional autonomy.

But given the competition among major political parties, let alone new ones like PPDK, the party activists' battle against what they call "traitors" of decentralization will need a load of ammunition.

Ryaas, a long-time civil servant and former subdistrict head, has, for now at least, been virtually removed from whatever influence he previously had. Even before the 1999 law was implemented in 2001 many fellow colleagues in the cabinet began to realize with resentment the looming loss of their authority with the delegation of power to the regions.

Under the administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, dislike of regional autonomy continued and the Ministry of Home Affairs drafted a revision of the law, which has yet to be passed. Megawati and her party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), are constantly on the alert against signs of rebellion in the regions, threatening the country's unity.

The party activists dismiss such attitudes as the old paradigm that associates the country's unity and integrity with centralization -- a paradigm that was confirmed by the sudden multiplicity of local rules and taxes issued by local administrations, to the dismay of businesspeople and big-wigs used to their previously unquestioned power.

Apart from regional autonomy the party also "sells" its concept of ethics in political life to "correct" current practices in politics. "Democracy cannot be used to violate ethics," the party's booklet says. Democracy has now even been used, it says, to produce "rules that are against democracy itself", such as the laws on parties, elections and presidential elections.

The party, it claims, "is the answer to various historical failures in past decades".

It is neither on the left nor right of the ideological spectrum. It is in the "middle", the party booklet says -- "a party able to gather support from as many as possible of the various different groups" in society. But how many votes will it be able to secure?

Executives evade the question, with secretary-general Rivai Pulungan saying only that the party's strength lies in the fact that its legislative candidates are generally based in their provincial hometowns, and thus quite familiar to potential voters, and also with the issues that are important to them.

PPDK is also said to be a "modern" party with a streamlined structure and paid professionals running the secretariat. It is also modern in the sense that supporters are not drawn on a traditional basis, its executives say. The party offers "rational choices" to the people, the booklet says, not ones that rely on charisma and emotional ties.

The popularity of Ryaas and particularly the younger Andi in their provincial home of South Sulawesi, and also in other areas, will not hurt the party, however. A local in the South Sulawesi capital, Makassar, once said Andi should be governor when he was guest on a radio program there.

Ryaas might also have loyal colleagues in many provinces and regencies. But the party's executives do not dare to say that this relationship can be translated into political support -- a position that may reflect their realistic anticipation of the harsh battlefield ahead.

However attractive their concepts such as regional autonomy may be, as the song goes, "sometimes love just ain't enough."

Outline of PPDK's platform

The failure of the government lies mainly in its governance, which is executive-heavy and over-centralized. All undemocratic policies are rooted in the weakness of the tradition of a people- based democracy -- a democracy that is able to improve the quality of each individual and in which the people hold sovereignty.

The failure of the country's economic development lies in its orientation to growth that ignores justice, worsened by the concept of a benevolent government practiced through charity programs that have placed the population or government institutions under the center, like beggars instead of rational economic actors.

The PPDK thus offers an alternative leadership. The party's vision of nationhood is based on principles that stress egalitarian values, which were the basic values in the struggle for independence.

For the above purposes the party's agenda includes:

o clean, professional governance

o ethics in politics

o enforcement of the law

o regional autonomy

o better education

o social security

o empowerment of women and youth

o an economic policy that reflects justice