July 13, 2011
A fellow political observer once told me that reform in Indonesia died the day former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (right) was ousted by her political opponents. Mulyani was much respected for her performance as a minister (for getting Indonesia out of the economic doldrums), and for determinedly tackling corruption, one of the campaign promises of the first Yudhoyono administration (2004-2009).
The sorry state of politics in Indonesia suggests my friend was right. The nation has been transfixed for three months by the saga of Muhammad Nazaruddin, the former treasurer of the Democratic Party, now formally declared a corruption suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). He’s a fugitive, firing off graft accusations at his mates from abroad, and generally threatening to bring the party down.
And the party itself is beset by infighting and corruption allegations, floundering under the weak leadership of its chief patron, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). Could Nazaruddin be the final tug that makes the ball of twine unravel?
The Democratic Party was set up as a vehicle for SBY, successfully winning him landslide victories in the 2004 and 2009 elections (mainly by default, since there were no other viable candidates!), but now it is fast losing ground to the Golkar Party. Once Soeharto’s political machine, Golkar was considered the embodiment of evil for many years after his downfall, but it looks on track to win the popularity polls now. How did that happen?
So, think about the eight elements of democracy — rule of law, human dignity, political equality, political freedom, common good, being informed and getting involved, personal freedom and respect. It looks a lot like reform is grinding to a halt here.
But guess what? We’re still the most democratic nation in Southeast Asia! In fact, compared to our neighbors, Malaysia and Thailand, we’re quite advanced. In 1998, our reform movement confronted the powers-that-be and ushered in a new era. In 1999 we had our first free and fair elections. Thirteen years later, we’re described as a buoyant democracy. Only now is Malaysia going through its “1998”, while Thailand is a bit further ahead, experiencing the results of its “1999”.
You know things are getting really bad when women take action. In Indonesia the Voice of Concerned Mothers (SIP), a group of professional women, activists and housewives, took to the streets in early 1998. On Feb. 23 that year they staged a historic demonstration demanding social, economic and political reforms. It took until May, two-and-a-half months later, before everybody else (including the students) followed suit.
In Malaysia, it’s once again a woman leading efforts to shake her country free of the authoritarian stranglehold. Ambiga Sreenevasan (left), a Malaysian lawyer and the president of the Malaysian Bar Council from 2007 to 2009, chairs Bersih 2.0, a coalition of Malaysian opposition parties and NGOs pushing the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) to ensure free elections. Their eight demands include the use of indelible ink, strengthening public institutions and wiping out corruption.
It’s high time, too. While Malaysia supposedly has a multi-party system, UMNO (United Malays National Organization) has been the ruling party since Malaysia’s establishment in 1963. There wouldn’t have been any manipulation involved, would there, for it to be able to stay in power for 48 years?
On July 9, Bersih 2.0 staged their long-planned “walk for democracy” with a crowd estimated at about 20,000 in attendance. The authorities greeted them with tear gas, chemical laced water and batons, and arrested over 1,600 peaceful protestors, including Ambiga, an opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. Even before the march, the authorities barricaded the city with roadblocks.
An overreaction? Maybe not, if Malaysia’s own “1998” is on its way.
A little further north, Thais are celebrating their first female prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra. Yep, she’s the sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted leader toppled in a coup in 2006 and currently in exile in Dubai fleeing corruption charges.
Thaksin was a controversial figure, to say the least. He was very popular because he defended the interests of the poor, but was hated by the ruling elite because he took on the military and the monarchy. He was also Soehartoesque—authoritarian: ruthless, and not above extrajudicial killings.
In an interview, Yingluck (right) said she was her “brother’s clone”, “but not his puppet,” she quickly added (as if being a clone is better!). Whatever the case, she’s got a hell of a task ahead of her.
So far Yingluck has been quite impressive, especially given that she’s never been a politician before. She’s professional, conciliatory and cool as a cucumber (so much for women being emotional!). But what she needs to do first is simply deliver a procedural democracy to a Thailand that has been stuck in the chaos of “1998” for several years.
Gosh, Indonesia is so far ahead. We can afford to be smug, no?
Hardly. We’ve had procedural democracy for a while, but not substantive democracy.
Here’s a shortlist of the issues we need to tackle before we get there: End the growing influence of intolerant hard-line Islamists; make existing law reforms work properly; enforce human rights uniformly, for rich and poor; reform the many rotten bits of our judiciary; end rampant collusion, corruption and nepotism in the House of Representatives; and — please! — find a fresh crop of new, competent and ethical leaders, fast.
Indonesia’s reform may be stagnating, but my answer to my friend is that while we have democracy, we still have hope.
And, perhaps Sri Mulyani will come back if we ask her nicely!
The writer is the author of State Ibuism.
http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php/articles/analysis-a-opinion/3128-indonesian-democracy-and-its-neighbours.html
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