One of the weaknesses of a representative democracy is that we can never guarantee that elected representatives will really do their job. This is why in some countries the legislative election is always complemented with a direct election of the top executive power. Thus, at least once a year every eligible citizen has the opportunity to take part in the establishment of the highest political authority.
The 2009 presidential election is the second of its kind in the history of our nation. As such it is supposed to produce a revitalization of our democracy. It is a means to achieve certain political goals in line with the general will of the nation as a whole.
Despite the fact that Indonesia can maintain positive economic growth in the midst of a global financial crisis, there is a legitimate demand that the government should do more to liberate millions of people from backwardness. It is no exaggeration to say that Indonesia has enough resources to feed its people.
The relatively high number of poor people and huge amount of foreign debt are important indicators that there is actually nothing to be proud of in the way we have managed our national economy.
Some people make a reasonable comparison between Indonesia and Brazil. In terms of population size Indonesia has a bigger domestic market. The two countries are endowed with an abundance of natural resources and it can be said that Indonesia has the additional advantage of having extensive maritime resources.
However, we have to recognize the fact that in terms of industrialization Brazil is already one or two steps ahead of us. Recently there was a meeting of four emerging markets: Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Indonesia could have been included in this respectable club, had it produced more than just a mediocre achievement in the overall process of industrial development.
Now it is up to the Indonesian voters to decide who, out of the three presidential candidates: Megawati Soekarnoputri, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and Jusuf Kalla (JK), should get the popular mandate to take this nation to a higher level five years ahead. Each of the three has his or her own ideas about the job.
As the incumbent, SBY believes Indonesia should continue the current paradigm of Indonesia's economic development and with some necessary improvements the nation could achieve even higher economic growth. JK disagrees with him. With his motto, "the faster, the better", he argues Indonesia should mobilize its own economic resources. He wants to add the element of nationalistic aggressiveness into thecurrent economic policies.
On her part, Megawati tries to give a better quality to the economic growth by proposing people-oriented economy. She rejects the concept of neo-liberalism on the grounds that it will only bring more sufferings for the Indonesian people.
Another important issue in the current presidential election that will affect further consolidation of Indonesian democracy is related to the future of our multiethnic society.
All the three candidates agree that there are four things that are non-negotiable in the construction of our national identity. They are the unitary state of Republic of Indonesia, Pancasila as the state ideology, the 1945 Constitution and the principle of Unity in D iversity.
However, none of them has given us any hint of comprehensiveness in addressing the current troubling reality related to the existence of many discriminative bylaws and religious radicalism.
Last but not least, we have to anticipate the political ramifications of the fact that there is still a disagreement among the presidential candidates regarding the issue of troubled permanent electoral roll (DPT). Many people are disappointed because the General Elections Commission (KPU) has failed to settle the problem in time for the presidential election. Political and legal implications of the troubled electoral roll will certainly affect the legitimacy of the presidential election in the eyes of those who lose in the race.
Whoever wins the current presidential election will have to deal with the political and economic problems that I have described above.
As millions of Indonesian people go to the ballot box today, let us hope that they are wise enough to choose a national leader for the sake of achieving substantial progress in our democratic reform. The meaning of an election is determined by how far it contributes to the substantiation of people's sovereignty. Let us then make this presidential election a success.
The writer is a professor of international politics and lives in Jakarta.
Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.
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