Traditional values embraced by some regional communities are hampering efforts to nurture Indonesia’s democratic political system, a study revealed Wednesday.
It found that some cultural practices and beliefs adopted in regional communities were incompatible with democracy.
Aristocracy, patriarchy, patronage and the caste system — inherited from past local monarchies– were listed as values that still influence certain sections of the national community but clash with the ideals of democracy, the study stated.
The study was conducted by a team of researchers from The Habibie Center throughout 2007 and 2008 and was led by political expert Siti Zuhro, also a researcher with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).
The book is titled Demokrasi Lokal: Nilai-nilai Budaya Politik dan Peran Aktor dalam Demokratisasi (Local Democracies: the Cultural Values of Politics and the Role of Actors in Democratization).
Four provinces were investigated for the study as their traditional communities were deemed as “typical” and “pluralistic” political cultures when viewed in the national context of democracy.
These four provinces are East Java, West Sumatra, South Sulawesi and Bali.
“In general we can conclude that the cultural values of local politics in those four regions are relatively compatible with the values of democracy,” Zuhro said during the launch of a book based on the study.
“Some values, however, tend to retard democratization processes in regions,” she added.
Zuhro said these include a strong culture of patronage still lingering in South Sulawesi, where patrons still dominate the community and can be easily mobilized for certain political interests.
She also highlighted a strong sense of patriarchy in the Hindu island of Bali, which has only seen a small number of women participating actively in the province’s political processes.
Balinese women still have no inheritance rights to their families’ properties, she added.
“This is a worrisome. Interestingly, West Sumatra society practises an opposite system, a more matrilineal structure,” Zuhro said.
She said West Sumatran people traditionally embraced strong Islamic values in relation to their political lives, although they often make decisions on social affairs based on mutual agreements.
They do not recognize voting as part of the decision-making process, Zuhro added.
People in East Java, she said, are politically divided into three groups — outspoken Arek people, the euphemistic Mataraman and relatively open Mendalungan.
These cultural differences lead to varied responses when election results are released, she said.
In general, West Sumatra and East Java have adopted democratic values more rapidly than South Sulawesi or Bali.
The book also highlights the roles of local political actors in promoting democracy in the four provinces.
Siti said although more and more people were now becoming involved in political processes across the four provinces, there roles were quite minor when it came to bolstering democratic measures and structures in their respective areas.
She said democracy in Indonesia was still “elitist” and had not yet engaged people at a grassroots level.
