Victory for the status quo

The deliberations in the House of Representatives on the three political bills passed into law on Thursday followed a familiar but disturbing pattern. The two dominant factions in the House -- Golkar and the Armed Forces (ABRI) -- flexed their muscles to impose their wills, not only on the two smaller, helpless factions in the House -- the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) -- but also on the entire nation. Except for a brief moment of resistance put up by the PPP, the two smaller factions meekly played along with Golkar and ABRI. So familiar was the picture that one could not help feel a sense of dj vu harking back to the political processes during 32 years of Soeharto's repressive regime.

All four of the House factions endorsed the bills, which, once signed by President B.J. Habibie, will become the legal bases around which the general election in June will be organized. The factions patted themselves on the back for a job well done, and for completing the "democratic" process by the government-set deadline.

The wheeling and dealing among the four factions took place with little regard to what was occurring outside of the House. The four factions were simply fighting for their own survival, using their remaining privileges to ensure that they emerge from the reform movement with as much remaining power as possible. Thus, ABRI is allotted 38 seats in the House and Golkar can still effectively count on the support of the civil servants.

The deliberations ignored outside demands that ABRI leave off politicking, that the bureaucracy remain politically neutral and that Golkar relinquish its power in order to make way for real reform. Unfortunately, it is too much to expect that Golkar and ABRI will make sacrifices as long as they still call the shots in the House. These two groups cannot be expected to put any other interests, even those of the nation, over their own.

This is the sad state of our democracy. As in the Soeharto era, the emphasis of the House deliberations was on formal procedures, not substance. Soeharto was elected seven times through a formal constitutional process, but who can say that he was ever truly democratically elected? Golkar won six landslide election victories, but no one can claim that the election process ever lived up to the true spirit of democracy. ABRI managed to hold onto its sociopolitical role through what it called a "national consensus" which actually occurred between the privileged elite of the time.

The reform movement launched last year sought to change all this and make the political process in this country democratic in the true sense and spirit of the word. The movement succeeded in forcing Soeharto out of power in May, and his successor, Habibie, initially showed promising signs of embracing true democracy, including his pledge to organize an honest and fair general election.

So much of this country's hope has been placed on this upcoming election. It has been widely touted as the defining moment for this country's future. How the election is held will determine whether or not the country's confidence will return, and with this return of confidence the renewed growth of the economy. A truly democratically elected administration will have legitimacy and credibility, two qualities which the current government sorely lacks.

Given the high expectations people inside and outside this country have placed on the June general election, one is left to wonder how Golkar and ABRI can stomach playing the same games they played under Soeharto in order to subvert the ideals of the reform movement simply to cling to power as long as possible.

The way the political laws were enacted, as well as their substance, will make it difficult for the government to sell them to the public, the dozens of political parties hoping to contest the June election, and especially to the students who launched the reform movement. Judging by the process used to pass these political bills, the general election, if it still goes ahead as planned, will be anything but honest and fair.