Sesetan village gives lesson in democracy

Sesetan village gives lesson in democracy

I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar, Bali

Sixty-five-year-old I Ketut Gede Yudistira was unarguably the most influential and powerful figures in Desa Pekraman (traditional customary village) Sesetan, holding two important positions in the village, that lies on the southern outskirts of Denpasar.

For the last twenty years, he was the Jro Bendesa (village chief) and also one of Sesetan's respected Pemangku (temple priest).

The first position gave him the authority, or responsibility (depending on how we look at it), to direct and supervise the village's social and religious activities, to act as a mediator in internal disputes and, most importantly, to enforce the village's Awig-awig (customary laws).

The second position made him an indispensable spiritual intermediary between the villagers and the local deities that reside in various temples in the village.

In Bali, where the people, if given the choice, would, without a second thought, rather break the law, or abandon their political parties rather than breaking the Awig-Awig or tempting the wrath of the deities, Yudistira was surely the kind of man nobody wanted to cross.

Yet, unlike a large number of the country's present politicians, who would cling to a position of importance by any means available, Yudistira had been trying for some time to relinquish his duty as Jro Bendesa.

"The villagers asked me to keep my position until the completion of the 2004 legislative election then they would let me go," he said.

Finally, the village organized an election to select a new Jro Bendesa on June 26. Dressed in traditional Balinese costume the members of the election committee escorted a group of 71 people, the holders of voting rights, into the village meeting hall.

With over 1,000 households in the village, a direct election would be a costly, time-consuming affair, hence the voting was conducted by this group of selected individuals.

The group consisted of the Klian (head) of the nine banjar (neighborhood association) under Desa Pekraman Sesetan, 45 elected individuals from the nine banjar and the heads of various traditional and religious institutions in the village. Known as the Paruman Desa, this group acts as the village's consultative body; Jro Bendesa's counselors.

Initially, the election attracted huge media attention solely because it was the first ever Jro Bendesa election that utilized modern equipment, such as ballot papers, a ballot box and a booth, and a two-phase election, not unlike the mechanism of the upcoming presidential election.

The village borrowed the ballot box and booth from the local General Elections Commission (KPU) while a member of the Desa Pekraman, who also happened to be a staff member at the KPU, briefed the Jro Bendesa's election committee on the mechanism.

However, it turned out that the election was an excellent example on how a traditional system of government could provide the modern state of Indonesia with several lessons in democracy.

First lesson: The incumbent Jro Bendesa made no attempt to cling to his seat, neither did he favor any one of the candidates, or interfere with the election process.

Second lesson: None of the eight candidates pretended that they knew everything or made empty promises that under their rule the village would enter a golden era of stability and prosperity. In fact, all of them showed an astounding level of humility and respect toward one another. At one point, a candidate even launched a negative campaign against himself.

"Come on, I know I am too old for this job, I am here just as a back up, to make the process a bit livelier," he quipped.

Third lesson: A good election produces no sore losers, neither does it produce an arrogant winner. When, at the end of the second round, I Wayan Meganada won by a single vote over Nyoman Arsana, he did not jump with joy. Similarly, Arsana, instead of demanding a recount, took his defeat calmly. Meanwhile, the other losing candidates said they would support the new Jro Bendesa and were ready to work together with him.

The secrets of this peaceful, exemplary election, according to a cultural scholar Ketut Sumarta, lies in the nature and values of the Balinese traditional institutions themselves.

"The position of Jro Bendesa, or any other important position in Balinese traditional institutions, is generally an exhausting, time-consuming and, most interestingly, unpaid job. Because these leaders are not getting any financial reward, the people then safely assume that their leaders are deeply committed, honest and trustworthy. Naturally, the people will listen to them and show their loyalty," he said.

Moreover, democracy, to some extent, is not an alien concept to Balinese traditional institutions, such as desa pekraman, banjar and subak. Except for the issues of politics, war and taxes, these institutions in ancient times generally enjoyed a substantial degree of autonomy from their feudal rulers. This autonomy, along with varied demographical, social and cultural settings, had made each of the desa pekraman or banjar develop its own specific rules, norms and values, thus evolving into a distinctive social institution.

Therefore, instead of uniformity, diversity was the standard, accepted principle that guided the relationship between traditional institutions in Bali.

"The traditional, much-respected adage of Desa Mawa Cara, Negara Mawa Tata (each village and kingdom has its own rules and customs) is clear evidence that Bali's traditional institutions have treated differences as a common, accepted reality instead as a potential threat or obstacle in solving a problem that arises among them," he said.

"Therefore, dialog, a key element in modern democratic process, has always been a significant element in Balinese traditional institutions' relationships and policy-making process, " Sumarta said.

Moreover, the ideal relationship between the traditional institutions and their members is best described by one of their most basic principles; the traditional adage of Segilik Seguluk, Salunglung Sabayantaka, Paras Paros Sarpanaya.

Salunglung Sabayantaka dictates that the institution is, in fact, a manifestation of its members determination to face the outside world as one single, unified entity.

"In short, they will share their good times with one another and they will unite and fight in the face of danger," he told.

On the other hand, Segilik Seguluk and Paras Paros Sarpanaya clearly defines that the institution is a medium, a space, in which the members discuss their aspirations and iron out their differences in a friendly and peaceful manner to find an acceptable solution for all.

"That is democracy, isn't it?" he said.