'Upset electorate could lead to election boycott'

JAKARTA (JP): Including the relatives of top government and military officials on the list of House of Representatives candidates could lead to widespread voter apathy and a possible boycott of the election, two political analysts said Saturday.

"Nepotism is a bad diet for the political system," Ridwan Saidi, a former legislator who helped found the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) last year, told The Jakarta Post.

"People will lose their appetite in the electoral process and loath politics altogether," said Ridwan, who served in the House from 1976 to 1977 as a member of the United Development Party faction.

"Eventually people will decide to join the ranks of golput," he said, referring to the Indonesian abbreviation for golongan putih, a term for those who abstain from voting.

Arbi Sanit, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia (UI), said many people would be reluctant to vote for the candidates put forth by Golkar, the ruling political group.

"The public feels that these candidates would only represent their families' interests," Arbi said.

The General Election Institute last week announced the names of more than 2,000 candidates that will contest the election on May 29. Members of the public have one month to raise any objections they have to the candidates, who have already been screened and approved by the government.

Golkar has been facing mounting criticism since the list was announced, some of which has come from within its own ranks, as well as charges of nepotism.

Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, the eldest daughter of President Soeharto and deputy chairwoman of the Golkar executive board, has defended the selection, which also includes her and her siblings.

"We will respond (to the criticisms) by working harder and showing our quality," Hardijanti said in an interview with Media Indonesia daily last week.

She said the criticism showed the voters' growing expectations of the candidates.

One criticism came from Golkar legislator A.A Baramuli, whose name is not on the list.

He was quoted by the Merdeka daily as saying that candidates nominated by virtue of their family connections should withdraw and develop their political skills first.

"If they are not prepared, they will abuse their positions," said Baramuli, who is also a businessman and a member of the National Commission on Human Rights.

Ridwan said Golkar was unlikely to budge on the issue. "We are powerless to do anything about nepotism," he said.

Arbi said most of the candidates, as in past elections, would not take up seats in the House and would make way for other lesser known candidates after the election was over. But, he added, they would be given seats in the People's Consultative Assembly.

He said the few "nepotistic candidates" who had been groomed to take up House seats should withdraw.

"This is a republic, not a kingdom. Our representatives should represent everyone's interests. If these candidates go in to the House, family considerations will prevail," said the lecturer at UI's School of Social and Political Sciences.

Arbi said many of these candidates had taken up positions that traditionally have been reserved for representatives from mass organizations affiliated to Golkar.

In the past, Golkar has drawn its politicians chiefly from mass organizations like SOKSI, MKGR and Kosgoro.

Arbi said members of these organizations might abandon Golkar come election time. "They will not vote for other parties, but they could increase the golput size to more than 20 percent."

The number of golput was estimated at just below 10 percent of the total number of voters in the 1992 election.

At least two groups have already announced their intention to boycott Golkar in May.

In Bandung, the Siliwangi Youth Force, a youth wing affiliated to Golkar, denounced the ruling political group for only putting two of its leaders on the list of candidates. The group said it would not take part in Golkar's election campaign, Republika reported.

In Surabaya, 100 members of the Ansor Islamic Youth Movement ditched their Golkar membership. They protested Golkar's choice of candidates for the City Council, which puts an Ansor member close to the bottom of the list.

Golkar, PPP and the fractured Indonesian Democratic Party will vie for 425 seats of the 500-member House of Representatives. The other 75 seats are given to the Armed Forces, whose members do not vote. (35)