T

he process of democratization up until this point has proven to be politically viable in our country. That is in itself an achievement taking into account that we as a country have come a long way before maturing in the '€œart of democracy'€.

Slowly but surely, we as a nation have been able to grow by trial and error to a point where '€” despite Prabowo Subianto'€™s '€œpoliticking and veiled threats'€ '€”  our country prevailed in its determination to adopt and uphold the principles of our chosen political system called democracy.

We have come too far to let our democracy fail; and for that, instead of snubbing and ridiculing Prabowo and his Red and White Coalition, we as a nation that believes in its democracy should be grateful to them. If it was not for them exploring and pushing the boundaries of our democracy, we would not have had the experience of seeing the resilience of that same democracy unfolding in front of our eyes.

While many opponents and even some supporters were appalled by the Red and White Coalition'€™s modus operandi, the very fact that it all played out within the legal framework of a functional democracy is praiseworthy.  

Prabowo'€™s interview on BBC and his erratic political style before and during the elections were counterproductive to his cause, yet they showed the significant maturity of our democracy, and the flexibility and leniency of our electorate.

Prabowo and his followers were criticized by many and praised by others, but all this was done very much within the rules of the game. Mutual accusations of wrongdoing and dirty play never did result in a massive brawl between Jokowi and Prabowo supporters.

All this does not mean there were not moments where the Indonesian people may have had doubts concerning the maturity and outcome of the whole democratic process. In fact, many may have had doomsday scenarios in their mind in anticipation of a defeat of the Red and White Coalition.

Many may also have had fears of déjà vu, of '€œextraordinary tank movements of Kostrad troops'€, as CNN reported put it in 1998. And some may have feared disaster, or complete failure.

But at moment'€™s writing, democracy in Indonesia, with all its imperfections, has survived and matured; it has shot its roots deep enough into society to hold off the potentially nasty aftermath of disappointed, discontent elements. The Red and White Coalition may have not shown very much grace in conceding defeat, but they had no choice but to accept losing in the end. Anything less would have thrown away decades of political maturation.

Nowadays, in more advanced democracies, admitting defeat and being gracious is more rule than exception. Nonetheless, we have made great progress. We have allowed exhausting all the legal means at our democratic disposal to prove the legitimacy of our democracy.

We also owe that to the behavior of the Red and White Coalition, as strange as it may sound. I sincerely hope that the Merah Putih camp will continue supporting our country by being vigilant, assertive and critical in their role as an opposition coalition. As a people together with the watchful eye of the non-coerced media, we need and will count on a strong opposition to help form the national conscience.


Asher Tauran
Jakarta