EDITORIAL : THE JAKARTA POST, INDONESIA

 

Political chameleons

 

The floodgates of reform opened at the end of president Soeharto’s repressive and monarchial New Order have, directly and indirectly, paved the way for unlimited political freedom in Indonesia.

Many things that were unimaginable in the past have become commonplace in the present. Some developments have been good; others have proven unhealthy for the democracy that we have been and will continue to fight for.

The ambiguous nature of certain aspects reform has been underscored by recent chameleon-like changes in the loyalties of the country’s political elites. More precisely, it has become common for politicians to change their party colors ahead of local elections throughout the nation.

The color-changing chameleon offers an apt metaphor for Indonesian politics: local parties are associated with specific colors on ballot sheets: yellow for the Golkar Party, for example, or green for Islamic parties.

The politicans’ opportunism is so blatant and ubiquitous that switching (party) colors might be termed a trend for party executives facing reelection to top posts at the national and regional level.

Recent party-switchers share one thing in common. By and large they have abandoned the parties that backed their campaigns and moved to the big winner of the 2009 election – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party.

It remains to be seen, however, why many have defected to the Democratic Party. Some might have been driven by a desire to cling to power. Or perhaps the Democratic Party, hoping to repeat its success at the ballot box, has been recruiting incumbent officials to switch parties.

In any event, it is no secret that incumbents have all the benefits when running for office.

The latest incident of party switching is the widely reported exit of West Java deputy governor Dede Yusuf from the National Mandate Party (PAN). After securing his billet running with PAN’s support, the actor-turned-politician has reportedly expressed a desire to run for West Java governor under the banner of the Democratic Party.

Dede never officially confirmed his departure, but PAN chairman Hatta Rajasa said Dede would run. “He said he wanted to be governor, so he needs a bigger party. I said that’s okay,” Hatta said.

Bandung mayor Dada Rosada is on a similar path. Dada, who secured his post with the Golkar Party’s support, has not denied rumors of his move to the Democratic Party — or of his intention to run for West Java governor.

Previously, Tangerang mayor Wahidin Halim, who won his current post with Golkar’s support, moved to Democratic Party and was elected as chairman of the party’s Tangerang branch.

Others party switchers include West Nusa Tenggara Governor Muhammad Zainul Majdi, a Crescent Star Party (PBB) politician who was recently elected as chairman of the Democratic Party’s West Nusa Tenggara chapter; North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang, who won with the support of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Makassar mayor Ilham Arif Sirajuddin, a former chairman of Golkar’s South Sulawesi chapter who was elected chairman of the Democratic Party’s local chapter last year.

Incumbent party switching does not violate the Constitution, Indonesian law or regulations, including political parties’ internal regulations. However, the repeated exoduses only raise questions about the commitment of politicians to the noble ethical norm of faithfulness.

Party switching has no legal consequences but it brings with social sanctions: a loss of public respect and trust – and the stigma of being branded as a politician without integrity.

It is their choice.