T

he second wave of direct elections for local leaders in Indonesia will be conducted on Feb. 15, 2017, in 99 regions. A number of people have announced their bid either as candidates of political parties or independent candidates.

The way the public promotes their candidates often results in conflict, as they judge a candidate based not only on their achievements, but also their religion. Competition among candidates has started to heat up and therefore the government needs to take the effort to minimize conflict that may trigger anarchy and destruction on election day.

What people expect from their future leaders is change. But the problem is most people want to see immediate change after the election, without considering the process. They will be quickly disappointed and blame the leader.

According to Lewin’s change model, there are three stages for change. The first stage is “unfreeze”, which determines what needs to change and creates the need for change. This is usually the most difficult and stressful stage because it will force people to destroy the comfort zone.

When the first stage is passed, the second stage of change will take place. In this stage, people start to believe and act in ways that support the new direction. Finally, when people have embraced the new ways of working, the organization is ready to “refreeze” by creating the new sense of stability.

Once people open up their minds by recognizing these three distinct stages, change can happen. We cannot conclude whether our leader is good or not without understanding the process of change carefully.

But to begin change is hard and not only depends on the leader, but also on the people.

Joko Gunawan
Indonesian Student Association in Thailand (PERMITHA) Bangkok