http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20080123.E01&irec=0
Jusuf Kalla's intervention Many Indonesians presume -- wrongly or rightly -- the Supreme Court and Vice President Jusuf Kalla are responsible, at least partly, for the ongoing chaos in South Sulawesi following November's gubernatorial election in the province. Unless the Court and Kalla are ready to embarrass themselves for the sake of democracy, truth and justice, the supporters of the election losers and the winners will become the victims of horizontal conflicts. While the losers of the election have their reasons -- and probably also very legitimate -- to defy the election result, people in this country, especially the elites, need to learn to accept a defeat even when it is bitter and painful. Ordinary voters have proved their maturity in the 1999 and 2004 general elections. The educated elites are much less prepared to become losers. Although it is not by intention, the Court and Kalla have set a bad precedence which can affect the nation in the long run, because direct elections of regents, mayors, governors and the president have become and will continue to be a routine matter in Indonesia. It will be very dangerous for the sustainability of healthy democracy in this country if in the future many election losers feel inspired by what happened in South Sulawesi. All Indonesians are required to be law-abiding citizens. But ironically it is the Supreme Court itself which fails to convince citizens the Court deserves respect and our commitment to abide by its verdicts. Its controversial verdict to annul the results of the South Sulawesi gubernatorial election and order a repeat election in four regencies further strengthened negative public perceptions of the country's highest court. The Court has the right to cite any laws or government regulations in defending its ruling to annul the victory of Syahrul Yasin Limpo and running mate Agus Arifin Nu'mang as governor and vice governor, respectively, but the verdict itself sparked controversy even among law enforcers. As Syahrul has filed for a case review, the Court will have no choice but to issue an honest and transparent verdict. But we need to remember the Court's verdict in a previous case in 2003, which was ignored by then President Megawati Soekarnoputri. The court ordered the government to install Alzier Dianis Tabrani, winner of the Lampung gubernatorial election that year, as the province's governor. But Alzier can only wait as his rival Sjachruddin Z.P. is still in office even now. His term will expire in June this year. Kalla, a native of South Sulawesi, worsened the situation in the province when he demonstratively used his power as the country's second-highest leader and as chairman of Golkar Party to defend Golkar's candidate, Amien Syam, who lost in the election. Kalla is evidently involved in the appointment of two-star Army general Ahmad Tamribali Lamo as interim governor until a definitive governor can be eventually installed. The defeat of Kalla's favorite Amien is a strong slap in his face, because Syahrul is supported by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which is less influential than Golkar in the province. Kalla should act as a statesman. As vice president he belongs to the whole nation, and not just to his group, friends or Golkar. Kalla and his men in South Sulawesi need to learn from Adang Daradjatun, who conceded his defeat to Fauzi Bowo in the Jakarta gubernatorial election in August last year. All citizens have constitutional rights for justice in this country, including the victors and the losers of the election in South Sulawesi. But the fundamental question here is not just about justice per se, but the readiness to accept the fact that there must be winners and losers in any competition, including in this election. The loser of the election -- Amien Syam, then incumbent -- has alleged massive fraud took place in the election. But is Amien very sure he and his supporters are completely free of manipulative practices during the election? We all call on residents of South Sulawesi to behave wisely and maturely. They should not let themselves be trapped by the conflicts of political elites who think more of their own interests than the interests of the much wider public. printer friendly Post Your Comments Comments could also be sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
