TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Plain view of 2009 politics
The year of 2009 is a year of politics
Change Size
T
he year of 2009 is a year of politics. Starting with the warm-up to the legislative elections, it reached a political climax on July 9, 2009 with the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and his running mate Boediono. They won with a resounding majority, with more votes than the two rivals combined.
The Soeharto-conceived powerhouse of Golkar had to be content with a miniscule 12.41 percent, while Sukarno’s daughter and Soeharto’s former son-in-law won a respectable 26.79 percent, an SBY-Boediono won with a very comfortable 60.80 percent. The margins should have produced a stable political climate, but such is not the case. The signs were there to forewarn trouble.
First, while SBY-Boediono won with 60 percent of the votes, their two rivals spent 60 percent of the total campaign money. Megawati-Prabowo spent Rp 260 billion; Jusuf Kalla (JK)-Wiranto spent a modest Rp 83 billion. The total is Rp 344 billion while the SBY-Boediono team spent Rp 232 billion.
The lopsided relationship between spending and results is normal in a mature democracy, but here the losers behave like small children who lose a football game.
They cry foul, finding blame in the referee. They spread rumors to weaken the credibility of the results and so forth.
To the nation’s credit, the people resisted the challenge to the election results, with some support of the firm hand of the Constitutional Court under Mahfud MD, who deserves to be Indonesia’s Man of the Year 2009.
The presidential Election is a five-year event in Indonesia, much like the FIFA World Cup is a four-year event. But some elements in the political parties think this is a tennis tournament, where the battle is fought every month.
Many politicians in Golkar and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the main losers in the 2009 election, behaved admirably. Jusuf Kalla was the first to concede defeat in a gracious way, and has kept cool so far except some outbursts on Bank Century. Wiranto followed suit as Golkar started to put its house in order to prepare for 2014.
But this was superseded by big money flowing into the party. JK stalwarts were replaced by Aburizal Bakrie, one of the richest man in Indonesia. Golkar assumed an aggressive position in the media, in speeches and in the parliament. Golkar turned around from supporter of the government to launch the strong attacks on two SBY key persons, the respected Boediono and Sri Mulyani.
The two pillars of the internationally applauded economic system are not liked by masses of PDI-P and partners who for lack of an economic program assailed the Indonesian economy as “neolib”, a word least understood by the people who use it as a rallying cry. Golkar, while being led by the most
profitably of the neolib system, joined the outcry.
Against the resistance of the political elite, SBY stood firm in defending Boediono and Sri Mulyani.
That might have been an important reason for SBY’s resounding victory. People liked the way he stands up for the nation’s development, relying on professionals instead of party politicians.
There is no question even now that Boediono and Sri Mulyani are by far the most qualified and experienced economists in public service. Both have impeccably clean track records and all Indonesians should be proud to have two top government officials with international reputations. All Indonesians, that is, except those with something to lose with the leadership of a clean government.
The previous government of SBY gained a lot of achievements. But there were doubts on corruption. It is hard to be credible when the Cabinet is full of conflict of interest ranging from tax fraud to stick market manipulation to cronyism dictating government decisions.
The SBY-JK government was not a clean one. The current SBY Cabinet promises to be cleaner, judging from the personnel in the Cabinet. While we may have doubts on the competence of some of the appointees, there are no big-time corrupt people in this government. The situation has reversed.
Corruption was inside of the government, now the corrupt people are outside. Outside of the Cabinet, but not outside of the political system. Many suspect elements are members of the parliament, and some officials who had been dismissed by Sri Mulyani have been selected to head important agencies such as the Audit Agency (BPK).
When Sri Mulyani upheld the law on tax, capital markets and acquisitions, some fell victim to the rulings in favor of good governance.
This has spawned a vendetta among the erstwhile victims of reform. That is the plain truth about the Bank Century debate. To be sure, major crimes are involved, especially on the part of Robert Tantular and his accomplices in the law enforcement agencies and among politicians.
But it has been Tantular dealt with since November 2008 and largely ignored until political discontents failed on issues to unsettle President Yudhoyono. They found their chance in Bank Century. The case was taken over by serious money, acquiring politicians and media support in the most cynical cabal since 2001.
Those of us who invest our hopes in the President are often dismayed when he is perceived as indecisive. But often after the consternation comes relief. SBY treats political volatility with the focus — and exasperating deliberation — of a bomb defuser. The Bank Century case is another political bomb. And it is slowly being defused.
Without overplaying his hand, he stands firm on his stand that the bailout was the correct decision. This clears the way for others to expose the political motives behind the abuse being bombarded against Sri Mulyani and Boediono.
While politicians and mainstream media are having a ball, the decision will come from President Yudhoyono. The old adage says that SBY spends too much effort on image and not enough on substance. That is not true, at least not today. The SBY leadership of 2009 has strong substance.
Then why is everyone against him, when he won more than 60 percent of popular votes?
Simple, really. He still has the majority of the people supporting him, but he does not have the support of mainstream media and party politicians. The reason is that media and politicians are for sale, but the people are not. Stick to your election mandate, Mr. President, and you will find the opportunists running for cover. They already are.
The writer is a public relations consultant with InterMatrix Communications and the host
of WIMAR Live, a public affairs talk show on MetroTV.
