My adopted country, Indonesia, is in the middle of elections. The first round where they elect their parliament, is over. Based on those results, the coalitions with at least 20% of the vote can nominate candidates for President and Vice-president. (The coalitions are mostly formed after the elections for the parliament.) Then comes the second round which is next month, when people directly vote for the President and Vice-president.
The contenders this time round are:
1. An ex-President and daughter of the first President of independent Indonesia, with an ex-chief of the controversial special forces unit Kopassus (during the autocratic regime of Suharto) who is accused of involvement in various “riots, plunderings, rapes and murders”. And did I mention, he is a son-in-law of Suharto!
2. The current Vice-president and a wealthy businessman, with an ex-Army general who is accused by the United Nations of having a role in human rights violations by the Indonesian Army in East Timor.
3. The current President, also an ex-general under Suharto, but known to have a reformist mindset, with an economist, who was listed as “one of the Wharton School’s 125 Influential People and Ideas in 2007″ and who is the current Governor of the central bank, Bank Indonesia.
It should be clear from above where my sympathies lie! But a poignant fact is that three of the six contenders are ex-military people. A dominant role of the military in democracies is unhealthy to say the least, take for example Thailand or Pakistan or Bangladesh. I contrast this with the Indian armed forces and I, on behalf of my billion-strong countrymen are extremely grateful that they have always played a subservient role to the greater cause of democracy but have been in the forefront when it comes to protecting it. That gave democracy the space to grow in India, that it needs so desperately. Indonesia is still a fledgling democracy, less than a couple of decades old. And I have high hopes for its success. Because, as I see it, Indonesia has only two choices – nurture democracy or perish. For such a huge and diverse country, a totalitarian government might be able to keep the country together by force for a few decades at most.
But even in the democratic system that Indonesia possesses currently there is a huge flaw, a hangover from the autocratic regimes of the past – it is too centralized. There is a huge need for decentralization of power in order to give voice to the myriad ethnicities, religions and races that make up this colourful nation. This has begun to happen in the recent past but has mostly manifested itself through local governments enacting Syariah laws to restrict freedom rather than legislation which affect real issues and day-to-day problems that people face. Only when that starts to happen will Indonesia have a true, mature democracy that will be the pride of South East Asia.
To lighten things up here’s a few funny election posters from Indonesia that I came across in Indonesia Matters, a sincere blog that attempts to analyse Indonesian current affairs.
Gandalf
The bridge between Obama and Osama
The leader(pemimpin) who carries the public(rakyat) on his back
The star performer
