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DEMOCRACY IN INDONESIA1

Prospects and Challenges


A. BACKGROUND

In 1998, President Soeharto was forced to step down by the peoples movement known as the Reformasi. The Reformasi movement demanded for reforms in the political system of Indonesia and an increase in the welfare of the society. Democracy, is the only option of political system that will guarantee freedom for the people and it was chosen as part of the national consensus. The demand for a full-fledged democracy arose due to a prolonged suppression to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly during the authoritarian era for almost three decades. To accomodate the aspirations of the people, several immediate measures are taken, among others (i) amending the 1945 Constitution to incorporate the concept of democracy into the Indonesian political system; (ii) creating legislation on political practices to guarantee political rights of the people; (iii) creating decentralization law which distributes power and authority to regional governments level; (iv) conducting a general election in 1999; (v) the exclusion of the military from any political sphere; (vi) creating an effective parliamentary system to conduct the checks and balances mechanism on government; and (vii) guaranteeing freedom of the press. To mark the first real public participation in Indonesian politics, in June 1999, for the first time in forty-five years, Indonesians were called upon to select national and local representatives in free and fair elections. No less than 48 political parties competed in this general election, a staggering number of participants that gives a good sign of political freedom in this country. Regardless of ethnicity and social status, millions of Indonesian citizens have become wellinformed about local and national politics and increasingly motivated to vote out poorlyperforming incumbents. Following the 1999 election, Indonesia conducted two other successful general elections in 2004 and 2009 respectively, that enables the people to directly vote the members of the legislative body as well as the executive. Indonesias democracy is projected to become the new softpower in conducting its diplomacy. Along with the stable domestic economic and political situation, Indonesia has the ambition to increase its role in the global arena. Indonesias leadership in the ASEAN regional grouping ; membership in the G-20 eliteclub; has boost the countrys confidence to start influencing other countries of its values, i.e. the promotion of democracy regionally and globally. One of the initiatives taken by the Government is to create an intergovernmental forum for exchange of experiences and best practices on political and democratic development in the Asia-Pacific region. It is expected to strengthen democratic institutions at the national level and, therefore,

This paper is presented in the Policy Planning Dialogue on Promoting Regional and International Cooperation on Democracy held by the Center for Policy Analysis and Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic Indonesia in Turkey from 5 9 December 2011.

it will also bridge the gaps in political development in the region. This is the framework where Indonesia will be working to achieve its global agenda. While we are reaping the benefits of democracy in Indonesia, there are still challenges ahead. It must continue to strengthen the local and national institutions. The failure of these institutions in delivering services and development will be seen as the failure of democracy. At the same time, these institutions must be safeguarded from corruption. Another issue at hand that must be tackled is anticipating the rise of internal Islamist that might force on the imposition of Sharia law in Indonesia. The relationship between Islam and politics is still a tricky and sensitive issue to manage. Indonesia plays a delicate balancing act, defining itself as neither a secular state nor a religious one. This policy reflects the nations ongoing struggle to position religion in public affairs. The duality is the most vulnerable aspect of politics, facing attack by both the conservative and the liberal moderates. With the above challenges, Indonesia needs to cope with structural reforms in the public sector, eradicating corruption and upholding the rule of law. It also has to ensure that, in light of the democratic opening, there are numerous attempts by certain Islamic-based mass organizations to turn Indonesia into an Islamic state, or at least allow the adoption of the Sharia law by the state.2 If Indonesia is to play a larger role in the international community, then such issues needs to be taken into account. This paper seeks to provide an overview of how Indonesia is balancing democratic process and Islamic values in the context of Indonesias increased role in the international fora.

B. INDONESIA, ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY There is a widespread view in the West that, in its clash with radical Islamism, that Islam and democracy are fundamentally irreconcilable.3 The view holds that, even in the few cases where an avowedly Islamic country can hold elections, these will reflect tribal loyalties and vote-rigging rather than open and competitive politics. There are considerable grounds for such pessimism, given the corruption of the electoral process in Afghanistan and Iran and the religious factionalism of Iraq. Even Pakistan and Bangladesh, at best, do little more than stumble between corruption and military coups. For a mosaic country like Indonesia, with so many diverse groups the challenges are not only promoting multi-party democracy but also building a multi-ethnic democracy, and a democracy that guarantees freedom of religion for all. Indonesia have shown, by example, that Islam, democracy, and modernity can grow together. Indonesia is a living example that there is no conflict between a muslims spiritual obligation to Allah SWT, his civic responsibility as a citizen in a pluralist society, and his capacity to succeed in the modern world. It is also telling that in Indonesia, Islamic political parties are among the strongest supporters of democracy.
2

Professor Azyumardi Azra, Islam, Indonesia and democracy, article, Strategic Review volume 1, August 2011, p. 73. 3 Daniel Kingsbury, Islam and Democracy Can Happily Coexist, National Times Article, Australia, 4 January 2010.

More than 80 percent of Indonesias population or more than 200 million people are Muslim, making Indonesia the biggest Muslim-majority nation in the world. Since the fall of Soeharto in 1998, Indonesia has witnessed a move to a better guarantee of the human rights and freedom of expression. One of the most distinctive features of the Reformasi is the emergence of Islamic parties. The above experience denied an opinion on the possibility of Indonesias disintegration after the fall of Soeharto. But, it is also feared that the liberalization set post-1998 will create a push for the implementation of shariah law and Islamic radicalism given the repression to religious groups in the past 35 years. Fortunately, notwithstanding the fact that many such analyses ignore the radical and sectarian tendencies that have become increasingly visible in Indonesian Islam in recent years the overall argument that it is the syncretistic nature of Indonesian Islam, and the moderation and tolerance that stems from it, which allows democracy to flourish in the archipelago remains popular. The perception that it is mainly the peculiarities of Indonesian Islam that make it compatible with democracy is reflected in a growing number of surveys and studies conducted since 1998 that set out to show that Indonesian Muslim are less strict in their beliefs and observing religious rituals. They are also against the implementation of sharia laws, dislike parties with an Islamist platform, and embrace the ecumenical Pancasila ideology of the Indonesian state. President Yudhoyono, in an interview with CNN, expressed that Despite the fact that Indonesia is still facing some challenges to becoming a real model, as the worlds largest Muslim nation that practices a true democracy, Indonesia has been able to uphold democracy and at the same time respect the existence of Islamic values.. Indonesias transition to democracy after decades of autocratic rule may offer the best model. In addition, Indonesia has recently been held up as a shining example for the Muslim world because of its balanced views on democracy and Islam. In Indonesia, democracy was never been defined as highly restricted and viewed as a Western product, and at the same time important principles of Islam was never defined in a rigid and traditional manner. Indonesia is also the model of what Robert Hefner describes as civil pluralist Islam that reject the wisdom of monolithic Islamic state, instead affirming democracy, voluntarism, and a balance of countervailing powers in a state and society. Therefore, the Reformasi era has witnessed these two characteristic worlds largerst Muslim-majority nation on the one hand and worlds third largest democracy on the other hand are deeply intertwined, and indeed cannot be separated from each other as insight into the character of Indonesia and Indonesians.

C. DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Democracy and economic development could not be separated from one another. Both processes strengthen each other and require accountability and good governance. In this context, democracy and development should provide an inclusive environment for public participation in the decision making process that effects their life. Therefore, it is imperative to balance democratic and political development with economic development. Through 3

democracy, economic development becomes more inclusive and fair; on the other hand, economic development ensures a sustainable and stable democracy. Democracy and economic development is a process to empower the people. In the early stage of fostering democracy, Indonesia puts a high priority on the efforts to accelerate economic growth and avoid crisis. The socio-political reforms undergone by the government to reinforce the economic development calls for tangible efforts to curb corruption, establish benevolent institutions, ensure the rule of law, reform the citizen service, and decentralization/regional autonomy. In the past decade, Indonesia has strived to fulfill the peoples aspiration and form the best mechanism to organize the civil rights. The Government of Indonesia has enforced good governance on every aspects of the economic development, ranging from the institutional and bureaucratic reforms to establishing law on labor. These reforms are aimed to balance the distribution of wealth and safeguard the civil management on their respective societys development. This also includes encouragements to the local government and small-medium enterprises to take a significant role in the economy and resource management.

D. INDONESIAS ROLE IN PROMOTING DEMOCRATIC VALUES Since 2008, Indonesia has organized the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), an intergovernmental forum for exchange of experiences and best practices on political and democratic development in the Asia-Pacific region. It is expected to strengthen democratic institutions at the national level and, therefore, it will also bridge the gaps in political development in the region. Indonesia has organized such forum three times since its inception in 2008. Indonesia stresses the importance on how democracy should be built in the region based on its main principles: a. Indonesia believes that democracy cannot be imposed from outside. Every political development should be a home-grown experience. It is something that must be constructed on the basis of a nations own historical experience and cultural conditions. b. Indonesia believes that it is imperative for the worlds community of nations; regardless their ideological affinity and political allegiance, to learn from each other in perfecting the methods of governance so they can better serve the larger goals of prosperity and peace. The process of mutual learning and sharing of experience would further vet the nature of democracy as a unifying factor. The latest or the Third Bali Democracy Forum (BDF III) was held on 9-10 December 2010 in Bali, Indonesia. The participation of leaders of other Asian countries demonstrated the importance that they give to cooperation in the promotion of democracy as a way of achieving peace and stability. It was attended by representatives from 44 countries in Asia and the Pacific. In addition, representatives of 24 countries from other regions were also present, as well as 3

observers from international organisations, namely EU, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Bank. In BDF III, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated that democracy provides room for all elements of society to engage in dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution, that democracy gives opportunity to the entire society to express their aspirations in accordance with the agreed framework, and that all the pillars of democracy must effectively function for it to succeed. He also expressed the hope that the Forum will serve as a platform for cooperation in political development resulting in home-grown democracy. Furthermore, in BDF III, Dr. Marty Natalegawa, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia reiterated Indonesias commitment to promoting democratic values. He also cited the strong support of countries in the region for the Bali Democracy Forum, the progress of democracy among countries in the Asia-Pacific region, their commitment to democratic values and to fostering cooperation among nations in advancing democracy in the region. By promoting democracy, Indonesia has successfully resolved a number of vertical and horizontal conflicts through dialogues and negotiations. In line with our free and active foreign policy, Indonesia has been active in promoting the development of democracy in the regional level. Several success stories are as follows: mediating conflict between Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Government of the Philippines; mediating parties involved in the Civil War in Cambodia; and taking measures to prevent potential conflict in the South China Sea. Currently, Indonesia is also playing an active role in mediating Thailand and Cambodia over border dispute.

E. EFFORTS IN THE PROMOTION OF DEMOCRATIC TRANSITIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

The democratic waves that hit several countries in the Middle East and North Africa (known as the Arab Spring) have brought the worlds attention towards these particular regions. To date, there have been revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt; a civil war in Libya resulting in the fall of its government; civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen, the latter resulting in the resignation of the Yemeni prime minister; major protests in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman; and minor protests in Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara. The struggle for freedom of speech and assembly, which is the highlight of a democratic nation may still be ongoing, but this democratic transition shall be able to succeed if it is given the time to revitalize its own politics, for example having an open and fair politics, reforming or even establishing a fair electoral system, and building a transparent government administration. In principle, the roots of the democratic uprising are the search for justice and welfare by the people. When the wealth of the nation is only in the hands of the autocrats in power for decades, combined with insufficient transparency of its redistribution, and corruption, the peoples struggles to seek for collective justice. The tension between rising aspirations and a lack of government reform may have been a contributing factor in all of the protests. So, after 5

the reform is conducted and democracy, which is the symbol of public participation in governance, is installed, then the next step should be the eradication of the root causes that have led the revolution itself. The new government will be compelled to overcome the following factors: economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, and a number of demographic structural factors, such as education. In others words, we do not have to chose between democracy and development, they can be achieved at the same time. The question, however, will linger upon which democratic example that these rising democratic countries shall take example from and as part of the democratic community, we believe that Indonesia and Turkey, as established democracies have a stake in the outcome of the Middle Eastern and the North African regions democracies. The form of support to these countries can be more like sharing some experience and technical support. As democracy helped noticeably to advancing a nations development, new democracy will help these region to develop and have stability.

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