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Much loathed but legal, political dynasties here to stay
After a coalition of political parties announced that it was nominating Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as its Jakarta gubernatorial candidate last month, people were quick to suspect that former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was building a political dynasty
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After a coalition of political parties announced that it was nominating Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as its Jakarta gubernatorial candidate last month, people were quick to suspect that former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was building a political dynasty.
In the ensuing debate on social media and in casual chats on the street, people theorized that Agus had left the military and entered politics at his father’s urging rather than on his own initiative.
But the Democratic Party, which was founded by Yudhoyono, and its Islamic-based allies the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) have insisted they picked Agus solely for his intelligence, good looks, discipline and modesty.
In fact, the Yudhoyonos are not the only politicians to have built some kind of political dynasty, which is completely legal and has been practiced since long before Indonesia became independent.
And neither is it unique to Indonesia. Even in such a modern democracy as the US, political dynasties are acceptable. The Kennedy and the Bush dynasties are probably the best known and often used as a kind of role model by some Indonesian politicians.
In Indonesia, such political clans are commonly perceived as a form of nepotism built upon the formidable political and financial power of their leaders. This perception has developed from modern day political reality.
The most notorious is probably the political dynasty of Tubagus Chasan Sochib, a formerly feared gang leader who won political power that catapulted his daughter Ratu Atut Chosiyah to the governorship of Banten. As their political power continued to expand, more of his relatives clinched strategic positions in local executive and legislative offices.
In 2014 Atut, a Golkar Party politician, was convicted of graft and sentenced to four years imprisonment and in 2015 the Supreme Court extended her term to seven years. Interestingly, her incarceration has not meant the end of the dynasty. The clan retains its grip on local politics.
So her relatives still dominated this year’s mayoral and regency elections in Banten. Her sister-in-law Airin Rachmi Diany and sister Ratu Tatu Chasanah were reelected as mayor of South Tangerang and regent of Serang respectively.
Atut’s son-in-law Tanto Warsono Arban won the Pandeglang regency election stepping into the shoes of Heryani, who is none other than Atut’s stepmother. Meanwhile Atut’s stepbrother Tubagus Jaman now serves as Serang deputy mayor.
In next year’s local election, Atut’s son Andika Hazrumy has been nominated as Banten deputy governor pairing with the Democratic Party’s Wahidin Halim. They have secured the backing of four political parties — the Democrats, Golkar, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Hanura Party.
In Gorontalo, all eyes are on Hana Hasanah, wife of former governor Fadel Muhammad, who is a Golkar lawmaker now. Hana, currently a Regional Representatives Council member, is running for Gorontalo governor and feeling the taint of political dynasty-building.
Titi Anggraini of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) says that political dynastic practices are here to stay thanks to a 2015 Constitutional Court ruling that asserted their legality.
She says the revised law derived from the ruling has allowed the creation of political dynasties and is bad for political recruitment and hampers democratic leadership succession. No wonder that there have been an increasing number of cases of political parties supporting the nomination of relatives of political leaders even if they are not the parties’ members.
“Take the candidacies in the upcoming Jakarta election. None of the three candidates is a party member,” Titi said. This is aggravated by the fact that political parties’ financial systems are controlled by their small elites who have a say in the candidacy process.
Perludem notes that political clans have sprung up all over the country.
In the 2015 local elections, for instance, 46 female leaders were successful. This may sound good but on a closer look, most of the elected female leaders had marital or kinship connections with the previous or incumbent leaders in the regions.
“In Klaten, the current regent is the wife of her predecessor of two terms. Bontang and Indramayu [regencies] also have the same issue. So if it is not the wife, it will be relatives who take over the job,” Titi says.
Siti Zuhro, an Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researcher, shares Titi’s assertions adding that Indonesian leadership relies on patronage. And this happens not only in politics but also in business.
“Our democracy today strengthens patronage traditions when what we need is strong leadership,” she says.
Among ordinary voters, robust political dynasties have received a mixed response.
Nila Daud, 45, of Kemanggisan, West Jakarta, says she does not mind Agus’ gubernatorial candidacy.
“Agus is like his father. He can make a good governor. But I’m still undecided whether to vote for him or [the incumbent] Ahok,” Nila, a housewife, said. “If he has good plans, why not? We have to use our common sense.”
But Tri Sukoco, an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver from Cilandak in South Jakarta, is of the opinion that Indonesia should get rid of nepotism.
“It is easy to become a leader if your parent is a leader. I think ordinary people should have the same level playing field. But I don’t know if it is possible,” the 34-year-old man said.
