Democracy, Indonesian Style

Something tells me I need to be very careful in writing this entry. Solo was the centre of deadly political rioting during the ’98 Asian financial crisis. Anything ‘western’ was destroyed including hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, and homes. Many people died, and the city burned. Things were different then as Indonesia had for years been under the rule of a brutal dictator, Suharto, who was infinitely corrupt. The current president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), has the nickname “Mr. Clean” as he is a corruption-fighter with a good reputation. The economy is stronger, there is more wealth in the hands of more people, and things are just generally better today in Indonesia than they were 11 years ago. I have also found out that Suharto’s wife was from Solo and many of the rioters were actually ‘shipped’ to Solo to cause trouble for Suharto in his own backyard in an attempt to get him to relinquish power. None of these factors exist today.

Having said that, there are two phases of national elections coming up in Indonesia, local elections on April 9, and presidential elections on June 19. People have warned me to be ‘hati-hati’ (careful) during the upcoming local election as the economy is deteriorating and anti-western sentiment tends to flare up when things take a turn for the worse.

As usual, I am not 100% sure how it works, but I think it is something like this: Indonesia’s political system works in a strange way; it is neither a republic nor a parliamentary democracy. Whoever wins the presidential election in June must create a coalition with the parties who win the local elections in order to govern.

The country is absolutely blanketed with political signs and pictures of candidates. There is no regulation like in Canada of how the signs are supposed to look or where they can be posted so they are literally everywhere, and they are huge! I don’t know if this speaks about the literacy of the population or just the number of candidates, but the election signs all have numbers, as in “vote for number 3!” in addition to a name. It seems the places on the ballot have already been chosen and perhaps it’s just easier this way. Javanese names are complicated, and many people only have one, like “Sujirman.”

Yesterday seemed to be a day for political rallies in Solo and there were hundreds – strike that – thousands of people on motorbikes with flags, t-shirts, and banners, driving through the city as slowly and as loudly as they could. They use the engines of their motorbikes like the beat of a drum to gain attention – “vroomVROOM, vr, vr, vr, vroomVROOM, vr, vr, vr” in a rhythmic fashion. Most annoying, and the lead bikes in these cavalcades all had some kind of enhancements to make their engines rev all the louder. It was impossible to speak or to think when these groups of motorbikes came near, and you heard them a full 5 minutes before you could see them.

The party that seemed to be the most active yesterday was one that you could say is Indonesia’s “party for the people.” All of the campaign posters have the candidates with their clenched fists raised in the air in defiance. The logo for the party is a picture of a black bull face with intimidating horns – the expression on its face is clearly one of anger, with the eyes deep and red and mad and the mouth clenched and tense, all of this on a deep red background. For the first few weeks I had no idea this bull represented a political party; I had actually assumed it was for a brand of tobacco (which also are everywhere).

I have been told that these parades of motorcycles are not necessarily supporters of this party but were simply groups of teenagers paid 20,000 rupiah each to loudly ride around the city carrying these flags and wearing these t-shirts. I have no idea what the political views of this party are, or the opinions of its candidates. How can people make an informed decision based on this type of campaigning?

We are all products of our own cultures and environments and I think I could spend years trying to understand politics in Indonesia only to come up with conclusions that are completely false, as I would always be looking at the system through my own cultural lens. I think rather than try to understand, I will merely observe. I will keep a very low profile and watch the country choose its government from the comfort and safety of my home. Yes I am likely being paranoid, but as they so often say in Indonesia, “hati-hati.”