The first direct election in indonesia: A step forward towards overcoming corruption?

Dyah Ayu Wanodyasari
Indonesia - 26/09/2004
  Indonesia, the largest archipelago with a population of over 200 million citizens, safely held its first direct presidential elections on July 5. The result, which was announced on July 26 as posted on the National Election Commission (KPU) website, tnp.kpu.go.id, puts Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) as the top candidate with 33.59%; followed by the current president, Megawati Sukarnoputri with 26.25%. The election, thus, is not yet over. As all five candidates failed to reach 50% + 1 vote, the first and second candidates mentioned above will have to compete in the second round of the election, on September 20. While most people agree this is one step closer to democracy, it is yet to be seen whether it also means a developed stage in fighting corruption, which has been a huge problem here.

The country was blindfolded for thirty-two years under New Order ruling with its constant president, Suharto. Money corruption was only a lesser issue besides other violations of human rights. When he was finally forced to resign in 1998, it brought a little hope for a better future and a lot more problems to solve. One thing is for sure; the country was badly in need of an eligible leader because of its poor condition. The three presidents in post-Suharto era are so far considered to have failed to help the county recover, after being corrupted by the New Order regime.

Six years have passed since the country’s reformation, but several people in the legislature remain the same as when Suharto still ruled. The reform appears to be a mere agenda that is not done thoroughly. Therefore, people are wary that corruption is indeed still going on. According to a survey by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, a Hong Kong-based risk consultancy issued in March 2004, Indonesia is still the worst corrupt nation in Asia.

It is, of course, not an easy task to completely repair such a large country with more than 14,000 islands and more than half are still isolated. Denouncing corruption, nevertheless, can be the first step. Suharto is still at the top of the list on The Global Corruption Report 2004 issued by Transparency International recently. The report stated that Suharto’s corruption money throughout his career totals between 15 and 35 billion USD. On the other hand, the second person on the list, Ferdinand Marcos from the Philippines, has collected only 10 billion USD.

Consequently, Indonesia had been in a monetary crisis since around 1997. In fact, in 2001 Vice President Hamzah Haz stated that Indonesia’s external debt had reached USD 139 billion. If it is to be converted into the local currency (USD 1 = IDR 9,000), we will get IDR 1,251,000,000,000,000.

Even the latest direct election itself was not at all free from the issue of dark campaigns. Some candidates suspected that their competitors used political money; they distributed money (sometimes fake) and free food to masses of people in order to gain more support. That was, obviously, an old way of campaigning learned from Suharto.

Therefore, while some are putting their biggest hopes in the election, many are still skeptical. The second faction now is becoming more popular. These people so far consider none of the candidates as qualified. Their argument is often the candidates’ track record. According to the Jawa Pos daily, from 156.102.364 legal voters across the country, 35.066.849 (22.46%) chose not to use their right. This was the highest number in the Indonesian history. Those who voted, however, might have their own considerations. Democracy is quite a new thing for this 59-year-old country. When voting, people often consider their personal emotion, instead of the candidate’s capability. The 1999 legislative election was a perfect example. The coup on Megawati Sukarnoputri that had happened three years before, won the people’s sympathy and took her party to the top position, supported by the fact that she was the daughter of the fist president of Indonesia who was mistreated by Suharto. Yet, her competency was only a little known.

How bad are the candidates, actually? Wiranto, who gained 22.18 % votes or one position below President Megawati, was a general in the Suharto era. It is hard not to relate a military leader of the New Order to the human rights violations that are taking place at the moment. He too was connected to the abuse of the East Timorese while East Timor was still a part of Indonesia. Below him was Amien Rais with 14.94 %. Although known as an important person of the reform in 1998, with a clean reputation, some think he lacks governmental experience. Vice President Hamzah Haz, who represented Islamic parties, was the least popular candidate with only 3.05 % votes. Though the majority of people in Indonesia are Muslim, diversity is also an influential factor in this largest archipelago in the world. Some do not think that applying Islamic rules as the national law would be the wisest way to overcome the nation’s multi dimensional problems.

Among the top candidates, Indonesians choose between Madam Megawati Sukarnoputri and SBY. Megawati seems to gain less popularity because of her policies, which have not made too much improvement since replacing the previous president. SBY, on the other hand, is another former general in the New Order whose commitment in fighting corruption is doubted. Though things are still under investigation, he was connected to a raid, which turned into a great blood shedding, on July 27, 1996 when a New Order government illegitimately replaced Megawati Sukarnoputri from her position as a party leader. Based on revealing by an Indonesian television channel, Indosiar, the affair resulted in 5 people being killed, 149 wounded, and 23 missing.

It is needless to say who can be a better president between the two. If the trend remains the same, however (people support the maltreated side, irrespective of their capabilities), then Indonesia must be prepared to be ruled once again by a military person after Suharto. A little detail from SBY’s past: he used to be Megawati’s minister, but because of a conflict with the government he had to resign.

This is, of course, democracy. We cannot blame him for his decision. However, whoever wins, corruption remains a major issue. When it is solved, people’s expectations can go higher. Cheaper education may very well build the young generation in the future, as most candidates boasted in their campaigns. They, unfortunately, while uttering sugar coated promises, seem to have little to say about the corruption in the past. One even said that he would rather forget the past and focus on the future. It is hard to believe that the best solution in overcoming corruption is to let alone those who caused Indonesia’s 139 billion USD external debt; and perhaps to let some people add to this amount?

That was perhaps a bundle of prejudice. Any candidate has the right to demonstrate their promises, no matter whether they are from a civilian or military background. And whoever it will be, some actual measures have to be taken to stop people from worrying that the upcoming president might be Suharto’s successor. History always repeats itself. If the upcoming president took no interest in bringing the past case into trial, it would create some space for it to regenerate. There is no guarantee that there will be no more cases of corruption in the future even after the government takes some steps. Nevertheless, it will make people think twice before doing it. Otherwise, what can we expect from a government which has no integrity to combat corruptors?

It is, then, still too early to answer the question raised here. We might have to wait and see the result before knowing it. However, even one small step forward is progress. Perhaps Indonesia still needs time to learn, but unlike in the previous era, now people can say:

“Right or wrong, it is my own choice.”

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