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.