The voice of the people

The voice of the people

Amid the news barrage of the past few days, a little lesson
from far-away Central Kalimantan was easily overlooked. Last
Wednesday, as newspapers here reported, Central Kalimantan's
legislative council elected Warsito Rasman, a director-general in
charge of regional autonomy at the Ministry of Home Affairs in
Jakarta, to become governor of the province for the 1994-1999
period.

The fact that an official from Jakarta, sent over to put
certain affairs in order, was elected governor of the province
may indeed give reason for some surprise, more so considering the
fact that he was chosen almost by acclamation: 39 of the
council's 44 assembled members voted for Warsito; two other
candidates managed only one vote each, while three votes were
declared void. The losers in last week's gubernatorial election
were Donis Singaraca, a former mayor of Palangka Raya, and
Elieser Gerson, the regional administrative secretary of Central
Kalimantan -- both local nominees.

What makes things even more interesting, however, is the fact
that Warsito's nomination has apparently failed to satisfy at
least a segment of the province's constituency, who would have
preferred a native of the province as their chief administrator.
According to newspaper accounts of the procedures, the voting was
marred by protests outside the legislature, where groups of
people attempted to block the entrances while unfurling banners
proclaiming their demands. The Jakarta newspaper Kompas reported
that many of the legislators appeared tense during the voting.

To better understand the situation, it may be helpful to keep
in mind that last week's election was an outgrowth of the
disorderly proceedings in the same place a while back. As may be
recalled, a few months ago the gubernatorial elections in the
Central Kalimantan legislature were aborted after commotion
greeted the election of Karna Suwanda, a nominee backed by the
central government in Jakarta, over popular local nominee
H.A.D.J. Nihin.

Nihin's supporters at that time placed their hope in the
ruling faction, Golkar, which controls 31 of the council's 45
seats. Nihin lost and people expressed their disappointment by
demonstrating in the street. The protesters aired the belief that
only a few Golkar members had supported their candidate and that
some others had been bribed by "outside elements."

To make a rather long story short, in order to settle the
crisis Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. decreed that a
new election be held within six months, and the two candidates --
Karna Suwanda and Nihin -- withdrew from the running. Last week's
election, then, was a direct result of that decision.
Understandably, it must have been terribly disappointing for the
supporters of the losing candidates that the proceeding turned
out the way it did.

Leaving aside the aspect of principle, we find it difficult to
dispute the logic of the home minister's argument. Since the
voting in the provincial legislature turned out in favor of
Warsito, the right thing for the people to do is to accept the
outcome since the council's vote represents the wishes of the
people, the minister was reported as saying.

Of course, one could always argue that the latter part of the
minister's statement -- that the legislature unquestionably
represents the voice of the people -- is debatable. But that is
precisely where the lesson lies in this particular case. We think
it is time that, in general elections, people take their voting
more seriously and with a greater sense of responsibility,
because once a vote is cast, one is bound by the decisions taken
by the legislature. That may not be agreeable to everybody, but
that is how the game is played.