The winds of change that swept across the country eight years ago brought down not only president Soeharto's authoritarian regime, but also the quasi-democratic political system that enabled the government to determine the course of national policies unchallenged.
Indonesia welcomed back the multiparty system thanks to the reform movement, with 141 political parties registering for the general elections in 1999, the first after the fall of Soeharto. Only 48 of the parties qualified for the polls, which were billed as Indonesia's most democratic since 1955.
This same feeling of democratic euphoria was present in 2004, when 112 parties registered for the legislative elections. Many of the parties had undergone a face-lift to be able to contest the polls after failing to meet the electoral threshold in the previous elections. Only 24 of the parties eventually qualified for the polls.
These two elections say much about how political freedom here has been exercised after decades of oppression. At the end of the day, only a few of the parties were represented in legislative bodies. Many votes were wasted, as were trillions of rupiah in taxpayer money. And, sadly, many of the elected legislators lacked legitimacy because they won seats by virtue of their political parties, not because they received the votes required to win a seat in the House of Representatives or a regional legislative council.
But this experiment in democracy will likely continue in elections scheduled for about two years from now. A number of new political parties were set up recently and are ready to try their luck in the 2009 polls. We can expect many more parties to follow.
Far from enlivening the country's blossoming democracy, the emergence of more and more new parties provides cause for concern. Worse, the constant birth and rebirth of parties indicates the immaturity of our politicians in practicing democracy.
The Democratic Reform Party (PDP), the National Sun Party (PMB), the Unitary State of Republic of Indonesia Party (PNKRI) and the National Awakening of Ulema Party (PKNU), to name just a few, were formed recently in the wake of bitter internal disputes in established parties.
The PDP was created by former members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle; PMB splintered off from the National Mandate Party; PNKRI was founded by disappointed members of the Democrat Party; and the PKNU is the new vehicle of dissidents from the National Awakening Party.
Given that the Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and expression, the formation of political parties is completely legal. Nevertheless, internal party disputes are an unacceptable reason for the creation of new parties, instead only underlining the inability of politicians to resolve conflicts and seek compromise. Such disputes and infighting also distract parties from pursuing their policy programs and channeling public aspirations.
This proliferation of political parties could pose a serious threat to our hard-won democracy. The previous two elections resulted in representatives more interested in pursuing their own or their party's short-term interests, rather than delivering on their promises to constituents.
Indonesia's political stage has for the past eight years been dominated by maneuverings that not only have raised many eyebrows, but also have sparked anger among betrayed voters.
The current multiparty system will go down as a period of trial and error in the nation's quest for full-fledged democracy. Most, if not all, political parties have been unable to produce national leaders. Instead they have given rise to adventurers, who only compromise public confidence. A number of polls have found that political parties are largely viewed as anything but agents of political education for the people.
Government plans to simplify the multiparty system therefore come as no surprise. A draft law on political parties proposed by the government seeks to increase the electoral threshold to 5 percent from 3 percent for parties to contest the 2009 elections.
If the draft law is passed, people can expect candidates to do more to win their votes. But before rushing to pass the draft law it requires a critical review, to make sure it does not pave the way for the forced fusion of parties, as occurred during the New Order.
Our experience with democracy may have caused us to regress politically, but we don't want to go back to zero.
