Correspondent's Notebook

Continuing Indonesia’s democratic miracle

26 June 2009

Campaigning for the Indonesian presidential elections are drawing to a close with voters set to choose their leader on July 8.

Radio Australia reporter Girish Sawlani has been travelling throughout the country as part of the “Understanding Near Neighbours Fellowship” run by the Melbourne-based Asia Pacific Journalism Centre and reports on his experience with a nation that continues to advance on its democratic ideals.

A decade has passed since democratic elections were held since the fall of the Suharto regime.

While voting irregularities are seemingly unavoidable in one of the world’s most populous countries, most analysts, both local and from abroad would agree that Indonesia is a democratic miracle.

The vastness of South-East Asia’s largest nation can only be appreciated by travelling to cities across its major islands, of which I covered just two over the course of 14 days. It got me thinking, how is it possible that a nation of more than 17,500 islands could hold itself together?

Well, one term comes to mind – the guiding principles of Pancasila set about by the country’s founding father Sukarno in 1945.

It consists of believing in the one and only God, promoting just and civilised humanity, the unity of Indonesia, democracy and social justice.

Note that Islam as a religion isn’t explicitly mentioned in the Pancasila. While Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world, it differs greatly to its neighbour Malaysia, which is officially an Islamic state.

Speaking to people from all walks of life, I learnt that Indonesians prefer keeping religion out of politics and I believe that’s one significant factor that has kept the country together.

They’re often ashamed by incidents such as the Bali bombings and disappointed by the actions of a small minority of radical and jihadist Muslims.

In fact even radical groups such as the Hizbut Tahrir condemn the use of violence. Though they openly reject democracy and are working to establish an Islamic empire throughout the world, members of the Hizbut Tahrir say they are work to achieve these aims through dialogue.

On my way back from the ancient Borobudur temple in Jogjakarta, I spoke to an ethnic Chinese Buddhist, who says he no longer feared religious and ethnic persecution he witnessed during the anti-Chinese riots in the 90s.

But Islam continues to play a significant role in Indonesian society. The country’s second largest Islamic organisation, Muhammadiyah is active in areas such as education and social welfare and I had the opportunity to meet with several of the organisation’s leaders at its headquarters in Jogjakarta.

To date, its built more than 10,000 schools, 166 universities and 47 hospitals to service Muslims and non- Muslims. While several of its senior members have played a key role in politics, members are free to align themselves with any political party they wish.

But the upcoming presidential election has raised one key concern in the country. That of its military past and how far Indonesian politics has distanced itself from it since Reformasi.

Three candidates vying to become president or vice-president are all former generals from the Suharto era, current president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto – all of whom have been implicated and accused of human rights violations within Indonesia and during its occupation of East Timor.

But I would confine such fears to the international media and human rights organisations.

For Indonesians, the generals’ past history, especially that of Prabowo and Wiranto, is almost a non-issue. They’re more concerned about the eradication of poverty and corruption, economic growth and employment . Themes that have characterised the campaigns of all three presidential candidates.

While this election is a highly anticipated one, political observers are more interested in what happens during the next two.

They believe the new crop of leaders, would be less influenced by the authoritarian Suharto government. And I believe it is this next generation of leaders that would serve as a barometer as to how far Indonesia has come as a democratic nation.