INDONESIA NEEDS A SOLID SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES by Fardah

    Jakarta, Oct 22, 2014 (Antara) -- General elections in Indonesia this year have led to an entirely new political scenario in the country.

         This year, we have a PDIP-led executive power and an opposition-dominated legislature, while usually the political party that emerges victorious in the elections dominates both the executive and legislative segments.

         The executive power is headed by entrepreneur-turned politician Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who was supported by the Great Indonesia coalition (KIH). Led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), the coalition also comprises the National Awakening Party (PKB), the NasDem Party and the Hanura Party.

         In the parliamentary elections held on April 9, the PDIP won 18.95 percent of the votes, PKB 9.04 percent, NasDem 6.72 percent, and Hanura 5.26 percent. Collectively, they won 39.97 percent of the total votes.

         The rival Red and White coalition (KMP) was formed by the defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who is the founder of the Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) Party. It consists of Gerindra, the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

         In the legislative elections, Golkar secured 14.75 percent of the votes, Gerindra 11.81 percent, PAN 7.57 percent, and PKS 6.79 percent. Overall, they received 40.92 percent of the total votes cast.

         The Democratic Party (PD) founded by the former president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, won 10.19 percent of the votes in the elections. Even though the party chose to take a neutral stance, it shared similar views with the KMP on many occasions.

         The United Development Party (PPP), which received 6.53 percent of the votes in the parliamentary elections in April, was a member of the KMP initially but later shifted loyalty to the KIH.

         Including PD, the KMP forms the majority in the House of Representatives (DPR) with 314 of the 560 seats. The KIH, including the PPP, holds the remaining 246 seats.

         Following the close presidential race on July 9, the General Election Commission (KPU) announced that the presidential candidate Jokowi of the PDIP and his running mate M. Jusuf Kalla won 70,997,833, or 53.15 percent, of the total 133,574,277 votes.  Their competing duo, Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa of PAN, secured 62,576,444, or 46.85 percent, of the total votes.

         Jokowi and Kalla were officially inaugurated by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) as Indonesia's seventh president and 12th vice president, respectively, on October 20.

         However, it was the KMP and PD that recently secured leadership positions in both the DPR and MPR, which has the authority to amend the constitution.

         Moreover, the Chairman of the Executive Board of PAN, Saleh Partaonan Daulay, recently stated that the KMP would act as a constructive opposition for the sake of the nation.

         Keeping national interests in mind, the KMP will be a critical partner of the government and has no intention of sabotaging it, he affirmed.

         "The KMP has frequently reiterated that it loves the country the way KIH does and that there should be no cause for concern. We only need to establish a synergy on how to turn differences (of opinion) into a force that serves to develop the nation," Daulay reassured.

         Following a brief meeting between Subianto and Jokowi in Jakarta on October 17, their first meeting since July, they told the media that they were committed to maintaining peace and unity in Indonesia.

         "We agree to uphold the unity of Indonesia, the nation's Pancasila ideology, as well as the constitution," Subianto remarked.

         He further added, "Competition in politics is normal but in the end, we need to remember that all actions should reflect the interests of the people."
    Subianto also called on his sympathizers to support the next administration of President Jokowi, as long as it implements pro-people programs and projects.

         "I have asked the party I lead, as well as my friends and loyalists, to support (the administration) of Joko Widodo," he stated.

         Subianto, however, cautioned that his party and sympathizers would not hesitate to criticize and oppose the Jokowi administration if their policies harm the people.

         "That is what I have told him (Jokowi); that is democracy," he remarked after the meeting with the president.       
    Furthermore, Jokowi pointed out that he and Subianto shared a similar vision for the nation.

         "In the future, if something merits criticism, we will accept it," Jokowi affirmed.

         Subianto made a similar statement while visiting Vice President M Jusuf Kalla on October 21.

         "Both Gerindra and I are committed to maintaining national unity. The new government must be given a chance to work and we will support its efforts to make Indonesia prosperous," Subianto, who is a retired general, noted, adding that his party and the KMP, however, would be critical if the government diverted from its initial commitment to improving the public's welfare.

         Supporting the KMP's stance, Professor Nanat Fatah Natsir, a presidium member of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectual Association (ICMI), advised the coalition to serve as a solid system of checks and balance of power.

         "Supporters of Subianto and Rajasa will expect them to deliver on their promise to turn the KMP into a system of checks and balance of power. They should soon make this a reality so that its supporters are not disappointed," Natsir said on October 20.

         The former rector of the State Islamic University (UIN) of Bandung was optimistic that the separate meetings held between the two leaders, as well as those held between Jokowi and Rajasa, would not deter them from watching over the functioning of the new administration.

         "After the meetings with Jokowi, Subianto and Rajasa should not stay idle. They should go ahead and build a system of checks and balances," he noted.

         In addition, PDIP member Ahmad Basarah, in a discussion on "Building Healthy Synergy between the Government and Parliament" held in Jakarta on October 21, suggested that the two party coalitions, KIH and KMP, be dissolved following the inauguration of President Jokowi.

         "Jokowi has been installed as the president, so there is no more rivalry in the presidential race. It's time to develop the nation and ideally, the KIH and the KMP should be dissolved," Basarah remarked.

         During the same discussion, the Executive Director of Political Communication (Polcomm) Institute, Heri Budianto, pointed out that a synergy between the executive power and the parliament was very likely, given the recent meeting between Jokowi and Subianto that has drastically cooled down political conditions in the country.

         Budianto believed that a reconciliation between the executive power and the opposition-dominated parliament was necessary, without the system of checks and balance of power being abandoned.

    ***1***
(f001/INE/B003)