Democracy at the crossroads in Indonesia after 61 years Charles Honoris, Tokyo
Since the conception of Indonesia over six decades ago, the understanding of what democracy is among many Indonesians has been rather vague and often misunderstood. For some, it is merely a simple state of majority rule through a process of voting and elections. For others, democracy comes with upholding the rule of law, protecting civil liberties and the rights of minorities. Are we really "democratic"? Have we truly earned the title of a democratic nation? What are we, really? Democracy is not just a matter of majority rule or elections. It, according to Nobel-prize winner Amartya Sen, requires the protection of liberties and freedoms, respect for legal rights, upholding the rule of law, and the guarantee of a free press. Majority rule without the respect of human rights and civil liberties would lead to what John Mill called the "tyranny of the majority", or Fareed Zakaria's illiberal democracy. It seems, however, that democracy in Indonesia is often misunderstood, even by its political leaders. When 56 members of the House of Representatives questioned the constitutionality of the sharia bylaws and demanded their annulment in June, they were harshly criticized by People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid from the Prosperous Justice Party. Hidayat asserted that the sharia bylaws were born through a process of democracy, as those who deliberated the bylaws were elected public officials. Hidayat had forgotten, however, that many of the bylaws were widely criticized for containing repressive and undemocratic values. There are currently over 20 regencies across the country that have issued sharia-influenced bylaws. Bulukumba regency in South Sulawesi, for example, has issued bylaws obliging women to wear Islamic attire, requiring couples wanting to get married to be Koran-literate, and compelling residents to pay zakat, or religous tithes. Worse, the authorities in Bulukumba's Padang village have used flogging as a method of punishment for those found violating Islamic principles. In Pandeglang regency, schools are now forced to provide separate classes for boys and girls. Pandeglang Regent Dimyati Natakusuma claimed this was necessary to prevent immoral behavior. Then there is Tangerang city's infamous anti-prostitution bylaw, which prevents women from going out at night and otherwise "acting suspiciously". Legal activists have criticized the bylaw as a violation of the presumption of innocence principle, as people can be arrested based solely on suspicion. According to a report by Tempo magazine there have been over 30 mistaken arrests since the enactment of this bylaw. When one looks at the formalization of sharia, it is always tempting to make the simplest conclusions -- that Islam is not compatible with democracy. However, it is not that simple nor true. Yes, a rigid and puritan form of Islamic interpretation is the antithesis to democracy and its values. But so are other religions when practiced the same way. In his book, The Future of Freedom, Fareed Zakaria wrote that in the Western world today religion is a source of inspiration not a "template for day-to-day living." It becomes problematic when religion is forcibly imposed on others literally, as the Bible too, according to Zakaria, contains passages that could be used to "justify slavery and the subjugation of women". The attempts to formalize sharia-based laws undermine democratic values and Indonesia's culture of pluralism. It is what former president Abdurrahman Wahid calls an attack on the Indonesian 1945 Constitution, which guarantees civil rights and recognizes the diversity of the Indonesian people. Many of the bylaws also run contrary to international human rights conventions, such as the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, already ratified by the Indonesian government. If President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration is serious about continuing and consolidating the democratization process in Indonesia, he should issue a decree to overturn sharia-based bylaws that are unconstitutional and undemocratic by nature. After all, a recent survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) indicates that the majority of Indonesians reject the implementation of sharia bylaws. If the formalization of sharia is allowed to continue, it may cause a snowball effect, causing the proliferation of more sharia-based regulations, including those violating basic democratic principles and civil liberties. The writer is a student of political science and law at the International Christian University in Tokyo. 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