Thou shalt not betray voters

On Wednesday, our democratically elected People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), our top legislature, meets to elect the fourth president of the republic.

To date, it is the only second democratic legislative body we have had. So looking deep into the corridor of our history, the view is rather lightless.

The first democratic polls in 1955 -- and the only one this country ever had until June this year -- failed to yield an effective government. As Indonesians later moved very slowly in their effort to formulate a new Constitution, president Sukarno jumped into the scene to stop the process and introduced his self-styled destructive "guided democracy".

Since then, Indonesians sacrificed a lot to regain what the tyrant and his successor, Soeharto, stole from them. In June, as they lined up to cast their vote in a fair poll, their cry for reform was so loud. "Reformasi," they shouted.

Painfully, they realized that their country was on the brink of disintegration and economic collapse. Their desire for change was starkly obvious in all corners of the earth. They established new political parties to channel their aspirations and to remove the glamor of the well-established pro status quo groups. But the people then forgot or did not care to demand the dismantling of these groups.

Consequently, these parties jumped shamelessly onto the bandwagon and joined the choir of reformasi. However, despite the historic oblivion, the June elections ran quite peacefully.

This was not because the people had learned to love peace above all other qualities, but because they were overly optimistic about what was over the horizon.

Now the new era is getting closer. But many circles have expressed regret at why some people should welcome it through noisy street demonstrations. An official of one political group said in a TV interview that it had always been a tradition for his party supporters to conduct a show of force. If he had just an iota of understanding of democracy, this figure would realize that his party's supporters are badly in need of political education. Once people elect representatives in a fair election, they should give them the freedom to speak for them.

It is an ugly ritual here for one demonstration in favor of one political candidate to be counteracted with another demonstration promoting a different candidate. And when these street games get out of control, the end result is not only predictable but also detestable.

Another ill-favored facet of this competition is the use of a religious symbol by a certain party, especially when religion has nothing to do with politics whatsoever. On many occasions a certain group always acts as though it is the sole claimant to a particular religion.

Although there are active and reactive groups in the current competition, the cause is believed to be in the amplifying, increasingly growing number of reports about money politics in an obscene effort to buy votes for the support of a certain presidential candidate. Demonstrators, on the other hand, seem to be warning anyone tempted by the offer that they will personally experience the people's wrath.

In politics there is no business as deceitful as the business of bribery. Although every voter knows that no Assembly member is a saint, each is at least expected to refrain from turning into a cheap political animal. Every member of the Assembly should remember that they vowed to represent the people and fight for their aspirations and should adopt as the Eleventh Commandment the tenet "thou shalt not betray thy constituents". Although none of the three presidential aspirants is perfect, the representatives should chose one of them in line with their voters' aspirations.

In this era of democracy, no Indonesian wants to hear one day that hypocrites, called Assemblymen, put the crown on the head of a thief, who happens to be the president.