Who's not ready?

Who's not ready?

Naman, a 60-year-old sidewalk vendor, has been eagerly awaiting the time when direct gubernatorial elections would become a reality. This ostensibly trivial reality in fact represents a very interesting phenomenon: That a roadside vendor is keenly aware of the importance of direct elections.

This issue of a direct gubernatorial election for Jakarta surfaced amid initiatives in the House of Representatives to revise Law No.34/1999 regarding the Jakarta City administration.

The proposed revision, it can be said, is somewhat jolting, at least for Governor Sutiyoso. If passed into law, as it likely will, it will allow for direct gubernatorial elections, even though the names of the candidates for governor and deputy governor, which are to be named by the Jakarta City Council, must be submitted for consideration by the President. Under the proposed revision, the governor and deputy governor will be elected directly by people in May 2003 at the latest.

Those two points could shake Sutiyoso's administration in the months ahead. Early this month Sutiyoso naturally criticized the proposal for direct gubernatorial elections, saying that Jakartans were "not ready" for an open and direct (gubernatorial) election, adding that such a direct election would be difficult to carry out, citing financial problems as one of the constraints.

It is generally understood that the centralized system that was developed by the Soeharto regime over more than three decades has resulted in Jakarta becoming the center of practically everything. As a result, people from all over the country have come to Jakarta in search of a better life. At present, this teeming city has hundreds of thousands of uneducated residents employed -- with luck -- in a variety of jobs. On the other hand, Jakarta also has tens of thousands of highly educated people, scholars and professionals.

Given these facts, Jakarta's residents are possibly among the best prepared for direct gubernatorial elections, compared to those of other provinces. Sutiyoso's doubts about Jakarta's readiness for direct gubernatorial elections therefore belittles all Jakartans.

When Soeharto's authoritarian regime collapsed in 1998, all elements of our society proclaimed themselves to be committed to democratic reform by promoting the growth of a healthy civil society in this country. Jakarta, as the center of state administration is rightly expected to become the pioneer for direct gubernatorial elections and thereby to become a model for other provinces to follow.

Sutiyoso, who is presently enjoying his second gubernatorial post thanks to the vigorous support of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, should use this second chance to correct the mistakes he made during his first tenure. By his statements, Governor Sutiyoso unfortunately demonstrates a lack of understanding of the people's demands for democracy. By it he also demonstrates a certain sluggishness in responding to the fact that the nation is moving toward a direct presidential election next year as an effort to establish democracy.

Sutiyoso's response to the proposed direct gubernatorial election merely enforces the undemocratic system he represents, and which is reflected by the City administration's current structure. Unlike other provinces in the country, Jakarta, with its five mayoralties has no legislative councils at the mayoralty levels. The very fact that he returned to office only last September, however, makes his criticism against the proposal of the direct gubernatorial elections quite understandable.

"I was just sworn in a few months ago for another five-year term, so it doesn't make sense that a new regulation would simply annul my recent reelection," he was quoted by reporters as saying last week.

Paying closer attention to this statement we can agree with an urban observer's assumption that it is not the Jakartans who are unprepared for direct gubernatorial elections. It is Sutiyoso who is not ready to lose a position that he has enjoyed, for nearly six years.