Democratic risk to Yudhoyono's consolidation By Sara Schonhardt
JAKARTA - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday took the presidential oath of
office before Indonesia's 240 million people, marking the beginning of his
second term in office and raising hopes for a sustained period of political
stability in what is arguably shaping into Southeast Asia's strongest and most
vibrant democracy.
Voters re-elected the reformist former general by a landslide in July's
presidential elections, following on his Democrat Party's win at legislative
polls in April. But in the months since human rights groups and civil society
activists have expressed concerns that Yudhoyono is amassing power in ways
similar to the early phases of former dictator Suharto's New Order regime,
which ruled in authoritarian fashion for over three decades.
If the new parliament and its perceived low level of political
maturity is a test case, then there could be reasons for concern over
Yudhoyono's consolidation of power. More than 70% of the members of the lower
house, or People's Representative Council (DPR), are new elects. An ambitious
training agenda for the rookie representatives set out by the House Secretariat
in cooperation with advisory agencies such as the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) has not yet taken place.
That partially has to do with new members' disapproval of the orientations'
substance, which were drafted by senior parliamentary members and included
topics such as table manners. Once they were inaugurated on October 1, however,
the members became more concerned with committee positions and political
horse-trading, according to Frank Feulner, a parliamentary advisor with the
UNDP.
Yudhoyono has the support of around 60% of the electorate and having parliament
on his side could lead to the passage of various laws that benefit voters. But
one of the DPR's main functions is oversight of the executive and other
government officials, a role it wholly failed to play during Suharto's tenure.
If parliament is perceived as too weak to push back, analysts say it could lead
to a reversal of recent democratic gains in a country that since the time of
sultan rule has long looked to strong leaders for guidance.
Collision or collusion?
Indonesia has taken big democratic strides since Yudhoyono took office after
the country's first direct presidential elections in 2004. He campaigned and
won a second term this year on a platform of tackling corruption and countering
terrorism in the world's largest Muslim nation.
To honor those campaign vows, Yudhoyono will have to prove his commitment to
reform in the absence of pressure from a political opposition that challenged
and upended several of his policy initiatives during his first term. With his
ruling coalition controlling an estimated 75% of the 560-seat parliament, also
known collectively as the People's Consultative Assembly, Yudhoyono is likely
to face less resistance in his second term.
Five of the nine governing parties, including Yudhoyono's own Democratic Party,
a host of Islamist parties and Suharto's former political machine Golkar, have
in recent weeks given the government their backing. The Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P), chaired by Yudhoyono's presidential predecessor
Megawati Sukarnoputri, continues to waffle on its position, but Taufik Kiemas,
head of the PDI-P's Central Advisory Board and Megawati's husband, has said the
party will not work against the coalition.
Not everyone views party collusion negatively. In an article in the
English-language Jakarta Post, Muhammad Izzul Muslimin, chairman of the youth
wing of Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah, said the
lack of opposition could allow the cabinet to work more smoothly by not
hampering necessary new legislation aimed at improving health and education.
But overwhelming political support in parliament and a potential dearth of
members of parliament (MPs) who understand their roles and responsibilities
could revert parliament into a rubberstamp for legislation originating from the
president's office - as it was during the Suharto era. Indonesians already view
the legislative and judicial branches tasked with checking the executive as the
country's most corrupt institutions, according to a June survey released by
Transparency International.
In recent years DPR members began to demand better access to research and
documents that would improve their performance as lawmakers. When Secretary
General Nining Indra Saleh took over the House in 2007, she pushed for training
focused on constituent issues and workloads rather than an "exchange of minds"
between incoming and outgoing parliamentarians, many of whom were viewed as
corrupt non-performers, said the UNDP's Feulner.
Some of the parties are leading their own orientations for new MPs. One week
before his inaugural address, Yudhoyono required all members of his Democratic
Party to undergo a three-day session to discuss party discipline and internal
relationship dynamics. He also presented a code of conduct, which still needs
to be approved by his new ministers, to coalition party leaders in an effort to
improve legislative accountability.
The Islamist National Mandate Party (PAN) currently holds weekly orientations,
and the National Awakening Party (PKS) has brought in experts to present
material on the rules and procedures governing MPs' daily activities as well as
proper procedures for making points during bill-drafting process. But many of
the smaller, less wealthy parties with first time MPs have yet to follow suit.
The parties' political orientations only provide MPs with basic knowledge and
fail to relate ways to work towards more transparent and effective governance,
said Tommy Legowo, a senior researcher with the non-governmental organization
Forum of Citizens Concerned about the Indonesian Legislature (Formappi). "There
is no clear direction on what should be done to defend the political views of
the parties," he said, predicting the coming year would be hampered by
political "disorientation".
The road ahead
After taking the presidential oath, Yudhoyono outlined his goals for the next
five years including a promise to improve economic growth, which is expected to
expand around 4% this year. He also reiterated his drive to crack down on
corruption, promote tolerance and moderation in religious affairs and build up
democracy through rule of law reforms aimed at building up the capacity of law
enforcement institutions.
Progress in that area has arguably been slow. This month marked the deadline
for the military to hand over all its business operations to the state, but
according to a statement from rights advocacy Human Rights Watch, the
presidential regulation that sets out the guidelines for the takeover is "token
change only and doesn't meet the basic requirements of the law". Those
commercial interests have complicated domestic conflicts, including in restive
Papua where the military continues to come under fire for alleged rights
abuses.
Despite Yudhoyono's focus on counter-corruption initiatives, a recent Reform
Institute survey showed that nearly 72% of Indonesians hope his new
administration will address their welfare concerns. An estimated 32.5 million
Indonesians live below the poverty line and Yudhoyono's first government
notably missed a target it had set to substantially reduce that stubbornly high
figure.
After a closed-door meeting with Yudhoyono over the weekend, Finance Minister
Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the president spoke of the need to improve economic
performance and the welfare of the people. With an ambitious blueprint already
on the executive's table, those goals will likely be prioritized when the new
parliament opens session through legislative initiatives aimed at boosting the
economy and attracting new foreign investment.
Whether parliament properly vets or rubber-stamps those measures will represent
a first democratic test of its checking and balancing role.
Sara Schonhardt is a freelance writer based in Jakarta, Indonesia. She
has lived and worked in Southeast Asia for six years and has a master's degree
in international affairs from Columbia University.
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