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dul Fitri, the holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan, is expected to fall on Aug. 8-9 this year. Indonesian Muslims commemorate Idul Fitri with their parents and relatives to revive family ties and foster solidarity. They invite all their friends, neighbors and colleagues over, and indiscriminately give alms to everyone that deserves them.

The Idul Fitri celebration, therefore, indulges Muslims in nostalgia and inclines them to forgive small wrongful acts committed against them.

This year'€™s Idul Fitri celebration coincides with a political year, in which all political parties and politicians are priming themselves for presidential and legislative elections in 2014. With the 2014 elections just around the corner, the Idul Fitri commemoration, locally known as Lebaran, might turn into a moment of political purification setting the scene for the parties to free themselves from selfish visions and vested interests. For that purpose, the following three factors need to be taken into account.

Firstly, Idul Fitri should give a boost to graft eradication. Inspired by a sense of collectivism and silaturahmi (communal togetherness), which is the distinctive feature of the Idul Fitri festival, political parties should establish a quality-control and monitoring forum for their provisional legislative candidates. It ought to be active instead of ceremonial. The Idul Fitri period should be a moment to foster pro-change politicians and toss aside status-quo politicians, due to its emphasis as a point of return for Muslims.

The war on corruption should receive momentum from Idul Fitri so long as the period attempts to sterilize and safeguard the screening of politicians for corruption or abuse of power. Such a screening process might be seen as a gateway to early corruption eradication.

The absence of a screening mechanism for politicians is likely to transform prospective corruptors into first-class ones. There remains strong optimism that political goodwill to stop corruption could be transferable into achievable goals if it kicked off on a blessed day such as Idul Fitri.

Secondly, Idul Fitri plays a subservient role in transforming parties into populist ones. Forgiveness, resulting from the greatness of the soul, is instrumental in creating equality as each Muslim is reborn with his or her fresh enthusiasm and conviction for facing life'€™s challenges. In this context, politicians with the ability to forgive do not mind going straight to the people, absorbing their aspirations without losing their dignity. A sense of forgiveness should lead politicians to break down social barriers that, in turn, can craft open bonds and an atmosphere of dialogue between elites and voters.

Bolstered by the spirit of silaturahmi, politicians and elites are expected to learn to listen to the people'€™s voices. This spirit aims to take politicians out of their elite exclusivity. It makes sense because the very nature of silaturahmi is to shape altruism; preferring others to oneself. It is tempting to note that politicians with a strong spirit of altruism are characterized by their power of giving. It is not just a matter of giving financial donations to the needy but also providing non-material contributions to others.

Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, said that the higher level of personality one achieves, the more non-physical his or her level of pleasure becomes. Such an attitude turns out to be a genuine thanksgiving, which is the very essence of the Idul Fitri message. Furthermore, the patience in training oneself to fast should eventually foster a Muslim'€™s capability for forgiveness in the Idul Fitri celebration.

For politicians, the power of giving means serving the masses or their voters to the utmost. Their genuine engagement with people plays a momentous role in deconstructing the fallacy of power that justifies one'€™s devotion to the ruling elites and government employees without serving the people in return.

Thirdly, Idul Fitri requires joint leadership and networking in response to various public issues. It is important to note that Idul Fitri'€™s spirit of collectivism is indeed instrumental in curbing corruption. People with a spirit of robust collectivism are strong in the belief that success at work and in social relations is all about teaming up with different people, or making a super team rather than capitalizing on supermen.

In this regard, involving the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) with regard to gratuities in the Idul Fitri commemoration, for example, is the best way to show that politicians and parties do stand against corruption and are ready for joint corruption eradication involving anti-corruption agencies.

Addressing public sector management is a matter of networking. Efforts to fight against abuse of power, corruption and growing elitism call for joint forces involving various people and bodies. Sharing with people to seek the best solutions to day-to-day problems is principally oriented toward animating the dynamics in the political arena, resulting in an improved performance.

The power of networking in response to various people'€™s concerns is pretty much the same as the philosophy of mudik, the long-established tradition of returning to one'€™s hometown to celebrate Idul Fitri with parents and relatives.

The writer, a graduate of the University of Canberra, Australia, lectures in the School of Cultural Sciences at Andalas University, Padang.