A

change in the political tide, by abnegating direct elections, is the latest peril that losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has brought to the country.

After recovering from his dramatic attempt to overturn the election results at the Constitutional Court, Indonesian voters now have to face the maneuvers by the political parties in his Red-and-White Coalition to reinstate the election of local leaders by regional legislative councils (DPRDs) in the regional elections (Pilkada) bill.

The coalition has severed its ties with public aspirations and has decided instead to voice the grievances of one man, Prabowo, who suffered an epic defeat at the hands of a local politician, now president-elect Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo, who Prabowo believes was launched from Surakarta onto the national scene.

Red-and-White Coalition members argue that regional direct elections have led to expensive politics and are sources of controversy, an irony given Prabowo'€™s multi-billion rupiah legal challenges to the presidential election results at the court and the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) '€” let alone the cost of mobilizing his supporters to stage rallies in opposition to the election results.

It is most galling to see the Golkar Party, the legislative election runner-up, which secured more votes than Prabowo'€™s Gerindra party, choosing to join Prabowo'€™s broken-hearted ballad rather than presenting a strategic plan for the country'€™s political future.

Golkar is a major source of unspoken opposition that has vexed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono'€™s administration. Despite its nominal status as part of the ruling government coalition Golkar has previously pushed for an inquiry into the Bank Century scandal that has seen former Bank Indonesia (BI) officials brought to court for corruption, and a possible trial of Vice President Boediono for his role as then BI governor.

Along with another coalition member, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Golkar supported another inquiry into a tax-mafia scandal that triggered a reshuffle of Yudhoyono'€™s Cabinet in 2011.

Thus, only Golkar party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, who is himself prone to dismissal after Prabowo'€™s defeat, can answer why Golkar is still one of Prabowo'€™s cheerleaders rather than gathering itself up to be a decent voice of legislative opposition.

Golkar'€™s support for elections via the DPRDs is merely an echo of the party'€™s former glory days as supporter of the authoritarian Soeharto regime. Proof that Golkar, despite its cunning political maneuvers during Yudhoyono'€™s term in office, remains a relic of Soeharto'€™s New Order era.

Direct regional elections came about in the same vein as regional autonomy, a departure from Soeharto'€™s centralized grip on regions that led to unequal development across the regions.

The idea of regional autonomy itself, however, is almost as old as the nation, a consequence of its geographic situation as an archipelago, in which regions are divided by sea, making each island unique, with notable differences among them.

Barbara Harvey'€™s Permesta: Half A Rebellion tells the story of how the idea of regional autonomy emerged from the birth of the nation in 1945, with none other than Prabowo'€™s late father, Soemitro Djojohadikusumo, as one of the staunchest supporters of the aspiration.

Following the end of Dutch rule the high authority and privileged position of local leaders had become commonplace with Army officers or a privileged nobility becoming '€œminor kings'€ with almost absolute power to control local natural resources and the citizens'€™ wellbeing.

The various geographic conditions were also challenging to a one-size-fits-all policy. The country'€™s first general election in 1955, which was perceived as having failed to bring better representatives into the government through Cabinet membership, sparked disappointment in the regions and triggered the formation of rebel groups. The PRRI (Revolutionary Government of the Indonesian Republic) movement in Sumatra and Permesta (People'€™s Rebellion) in Sulawesi were among the significant rebel groups that emerged in the 1950s.

Soemitro'€™s siding with the Permesta rebel group brought upon him '€œtraitor'€ status from first president Sukarno and he remained a political outcast until Soeharto asked him to join his Cabinet.

Following the pilkada bill controversy, regional heads who have emerged from direct elections have also voiced opposition to the Red-and-White Coalition'€™s proposal, which has so far proven itself to be no more than the epitome of elite political revenge rather than an act to defend the public'€™s interest.

Golkar, as the biggest part of the coalition, now has a decent excuse to leave Prabowo by supporting direct elections in the bill legislation. This move might also open the way to Jokowi'€™s future administration. After all vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla, who is still a Golkar party member, is a bridge for the party to Jokowi'€™s coalition.

As one of the country'€™s most successful political parties, which has survived many political conjunctures and remains one of the most effective vote gatherers, Golkar has the chance to stand above Prabowo'€™s emotional baggage.

Golkar can lead other members of the Red-and-White Coalition to prove that they side with the people, instead of with Prabowo, A chance to prove that rather than promoting a fruitless political ambition, it is nobler to stand and defend the rights of the people who supported them in the legislative election.

And for Prabowo, nothing would suit him better these days than to learn more about the legacy of his father.