Ahmadiyah As A New Religion?

Can it really all be that simple?

Can it really be as simple as the Ahmadis standing up and saying, "OK, we are a new religion", and "please leave us alone"?

If you were prepared to accept the word of Priyo Budi Santoso, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and member of Golkar, then it is. It would seem that the Democrat Party of SBY is also suggesting that the establishment of a new religion will resolve the violence, the murder, and the mayhem. Well, at least, this is what Imran Muchtar is saying.

However, if the recent attacks on churches in Temanggung is anything to go by, then declaring a new religion is hardly going to be a cure for the violence being perpetrated against the Ahmadis. If mobs can go on the rampage and burn churches because a Christian man does not get the death sentence for blaspheming Islam, then this clearly does not bode well for the Ahmadis.

The Ahmadis are a sect of Islam. Perhaps not a sect that is accepted as being mainstream, but a sect all the same. If they were to branch off and call themselves a new religion this hardly resolves the issue. The core beliefs of the Ahmad remain Islamic in nature. The reality is that even if the Ahmadis were to spin themselves off from mainstream Islam, they remain Islamic in nature. For example, when King Henry VIII decided that the Catholic Church was becoming less agreeable and accepting of his needs, he decided to create a spin-off of the Roman Catholic Church and call it the Church of England.

Now, the Church of England is Christian in its orientation and beliefs. There are a few Virgin Mary issues as I understand it, but to all intents and purposes it is a Christian belief system, a Christian church. So, it does not really matter whether you are Catholic, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Church of England, Protestant, Mormon or Quaker there is an argument to be made that these are all sects of the Christian faith. It would also seem reasonable to me that even if the Ahmadis were to separate from mainstream Islam and declare themselves a new religion that they would remain in a technical sense a sect of Islam.

The answer to the Ahmadi issue is for Indonesia and her citizens to live by that creed that is encompassed in Bhinneka Tunggal Ika or the idea of having unity in diversity rather than continue down the road of intolerance and indifference to human life and existence.

Once again, the Ahmadis spinning themselves off from Islam will not resolve the violence.

Ho hum...

Bank Century, Bailouts, Quorum, and Libel: Need or Diversion?

No apologies on the long-winded nature of this post. Some will find it interesting and some will be bored to snores.

The Bank Century issue is one that has lingered and lingered, and will seemingly linger some more. It is an interesting political issue in the sense that so many are staking so much on "the case" being resolved. However, the issue, at least for some, for a long time, has been whether or not there is in fact a case to be resolved.

The previous hearings on the "scandal" presumably saw most, if not all, of the pertinent information revealed and placed onto the record. However, it would seem that Golkar, under the auspices of the one and only Aburizal Bakrie, alleged artful tax-dodger, that there is more to the Bank Century scandal than meets the eye. Therefore, Golkar is pushing hard for a full-scale inquisition to re-ignite the Bank Century case in the public arena. The cynics among us will surely not miss that Bank Century will serve as an excellent foil for the immediate aftermath of the Gayus debacle which would have seen some focus return to the Bakrie family and their business accounting practices. A diversion? To each their own.

The question then becomes: "Is there a need for the Bank Century matter to be replayed and re-tried in the court of public opinion through a long and drawn out parliamentary process?" On information currently available and the information that wended its way into the public domain the last time around, the answer is no. Any further inquisition is a waste of time and tax-payers money. Yet, perhaps another round of Bank Century frivolity can put this case to rest once and for all.

A point that must not go unnoticed is that the case has ramifications for the 2014 presidential elections. So, in no uncertain terms much of the desire to keep the Bank Century scandal running is nothing more than cynical political electioneering and an attempt to remove possible challenges to the status quo. Here is a scenario that not a lot of people are talking about yet, but they will.

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the former Finance Minister and current Managing Director of the World Bank Group will undoubtedly be a target of Golkar in its inquisition. The reason is that Aburizal Bakrie has an axe to grind and she is perceived as a threat to him and his political aspirations. Indrawati has the added value of being perceived as "clean". Clean in no other sense of the word than free of the taint of corruption. The point of the Bank Century scandal is a cynical effort to taint her with the stench of corruption that has and continues to permeate to the core of Indonesian politics.

Aburizal Bakrie wants to be president and Indrawati has the credentials to stand in his way. In fact, there are many who believe that she would make a good president of the Republic of Indonesia herself.

But, Indrawati aside, there are others who can be tainted by the brush of corruption and as such "tarred and feathered" in the public eye. These include the son, Edhie Baskoro, of the current president, SBY. There has been an equal amount of 2014 presidential election talk that the democratic party are looking at cementing the Yudhoyono family political dynasty by either anointing the First Lady, Ani Yudhoyono, or Edhie as the successor and rightful heir to the big chair, RI-1.

Therefore, the current libel case being played out in the Central Jakarta District Court has much relevance to those aspirations of the Demokrat Party and Edhie Baskoro himself. Edhie along with Djoko Suyanto (Coordinating Minister for Legal, Political, and Security Affairs), Andi Mallarangeng (Minister for Sport), and Hatta Rajasa (Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs), have launched a libel action against Mustar Bonaventura and Ferdy Simawun.

Bonaventura and Simawun are from a group called Bendera (Benteng Demokrasi Rakyat / People's Defense for Democracy) (Benteng is a fort and it is used here in the Alamo sense of being the last holdout against the invaders that are all around them. Bendera is also the Indonesia word for Flag). The group is oft described as being an ultranationalist youth group whose first real moments in the public eye came with calls to destroy Malaysia.

Bonaventura and Simawun were at the forefront of claims that Edhie and the others were the recipients of almost USD 200 million in kickbacks from the Bank Century scandal. Aside from Edhie and the others, the implication was that these kickbacks were used to fund others as well and hence the corrupt monies flowed to SBY and others in his inner circle, thus tainting them all with corruption.

The Demokrat Party and some of the other members of the governing coalition have been quick to point out that they are going to try and thwart any re-opening of the Bank Century scandal. However, there are a couple of "problems" on that front. The Constitutional Court recently lowered the numbers necessary for parliamentary quorum to be achieved in order to trigger debate from 3/4 to 2/3. In simple terms, the 26% of the seats that the Demokrat Party held in the House are no longer sufficient to ward of any public pronouncements by the parliament on issues that the Demokrats find striking a little close to home.

Nevertheless, if Golkar was dead set keen to tarnish the reputations of as many political opponents as they can, then they should be channeling much of their attention to the Central Jakarta District Court in support of Banventura and Simawun. They could conceivably be doing this out of the public eye.

The first trial hearing in the libel case was a mess. It was a mess because Bonaventura and Simawun refused to enter the court until their supporters were allowed to be seated in the court for the hearing. For some reason this was permitted. Chaos was almost certain to follow. When Bonaventura and Simawun were finally brought to court and seated for the opening salvos, it was not long before the proceedings degenerated into shouting matches between supporters and witnesses with judges trying to keep order. In the end, the judges ordered the chamber cleared of Bendera supporters, at which point Bonaventura and Simawun left the building with their lawyers in toe. They left because of the inherent unfairness with which their supporters were being treated.

Seriously though, I have no problem with supporters being present, but there are rules and etiquette to be observed in a courtroom whether you like it or not. One of those rules is that there is to be civility, which means that the judges were well within the bounds of fairness to remove unruly supporters.

Nevertheless, unruly supporters aside, the case is an excellent opportunity to put on the public record all and sundry with respect to evidence of the corruption linked to the Bank Century case. In that sense, like it or not, the Bank Century scandal is not done and any dirty laundry, if it exists, can certainly be aired in a libel case like this one.

The reality for Bonaventura and Simawun is that merely getting Edhie and his cohorts up on the stand and asking them whether or not they took the kickbacks is not going to "cut the mustard". The only way that the defense will corner any of these men into confessions is to overwhelm them with the truth of the allegations that have led to the libel petition being filed in the first place. This was evident in the short proceedings of Thursday when Suyanto sat in the witness chair.

Saor Siagian for the defense asked Suyanto whether or not he had received Bank Century funds. Suyanto's simple response was he was not involved in the case. The only way that Siagian can resolve this good ol' Mexican standoff is to have a little more ammunition left in the gun. There needs to be a magic bullet that ties all these claims together and proves that kickbacks were paid. If not, then Siagian has a hard road to hoe that is going to end up with his clients being found to have committed the offense as claimed.

And, this is where Golkar and other Bank Century conspiracy theorists can help Bonaventura and Simawun. Simply, if they have anything like hard evidence as opposed to hearsay, innuendo and the odd creative thought process, then now would be the time to put it out there.

But, getting back to where we started; a need or a diversion? You be the judge!

Aburizal Bakrie: Defamed?

Has Singapore come to Indonesia? The way of the Singaporean political elite is to sue their political opposition into oblivion by abusing defamation laws. Perhaps, Aburizal Bakrie has realised that Indonesia defamation laws, both criminal and civil, allow for Indonesian politicians to do the same.

The recent reporting of an alleged meeting between Gayus Tambunan and Aburizal Bakrie in Bali during a recent tennis tournament has struck a chord with the man behind the Sidoarjo mud extrusion. Gayus was the point man on a tax avoidance racket that included a number of Bakrie companies. The racket saw tax obligations lowered and mechanisms put in place to ensure that the government lost any challenges that it made against the assessments.

The racket worked well for a while, but it has seemingly begun to come unstuck. Needless to say there are a few nervous people floating around the circles of the political elite as they wonder just how much Gayus knows and just how big the bucket of crap is that he has to spill. This is particularly so if the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) gets involved. So, it is within this framework that a meeting between Gayus and Aburizal Bakrie appears believable.

And, truth be told there would be plenty of people from all walks of life who would like to see Bakrie come unstuck and get shafted in the most figurative of senses, then again there are probably a few who wouldn't mind seeing that happen in a literal sense either!

But I digress. Aburizal Bakrie has decided that the news organisations that reported this alleged meeting have defamed him. So, he went to the press council to lodge a formal complaint. It is expected that an official complaint to police will be lodged in the near future.

The five media organisations include Kompas, SCTV, Metro TV, Detik.com, and Media Indonesia. Metro TV and Media Indonesia are an interesting choice as as they are the media vehicles of Surya Paloh. Paloh happens to have been a past challenger to Bakrie's dominance in Golkar.

It seems that Bakrie is a little upset that his denials of a meeting ever taking place were not accepted as given. Therefore, Bakrie is of the belief that because his denials were not accepted as the ultimate truth that he has been defamed because the media is guilty of character assassination. The man is on a mission to clean up the media which he believes has degenerated into outlets purveying lies and spin-doctoring the truth to turn the public against him.

It will be interesting to see where this latest crack at criminal and civil defamation laws goes.

(Photo courtesy of Antara)

Ancient Rome and a DPR Junket to Greece...

It is a good thing that I can touch type! Otherwise, I might not see the keyboard through the tears of laughter. This post is probably not an "only in Indonesia" one, but the supposed parliamentarians housed at the House of Representatives in Jakarta just do it with so much ease that it might as well be!

The latest in a long line of laughing stock moments is the Nudirman Munir of Golkar fame and a member of the DPR. It would seem that the DPR Ethics Council, of which Nudirman is Deputy Chairperson, has decided that it needs to take a comparative study tour to Greece in order to study the ethics of Ancient Rome. Nah, bugger me, but the last time I looked Rome ancient or otherwise would have found itself located in modern day Italy. In fact, the erstwhile members of the DPR ethics council would need to be undertaking a comparative study within a comparative study tour to get from Greece to Italy to do what it is that the trip, otherwise known as a junket, is supposed to let them learn.

But, the best part of the whole thing is that Nudirman rationalises the trip as needed in order to answer the very important questions of how parliamentarians can leave the chamber during sessions, whether the ethics council can dismiss parliamentarians, whether parliamentarians are permitted to smoke (presumably in the chamber during sessions), and views on the death penalty.

The last one is a hoot because this was justified as the members of the DPR Ethics Council needing to get first hand views on this as they have traditionally been fooled by do-gooder NGOs who pulled the wool over the ethics council's eyes. Yes, the tears are streaming down my cheeks now.

Yet, the icing on the cake despite all of those individually humorous moments above is that the "real" reason that the members need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of public money is that the information they hope to glean from going there in person cannot be found on the internet. My guess is that Nudirman needs to hire some better researchers or ask around. He might just find that he does not have to even leave Jakarta, let alone Indonesia, in order to find an expert that can fill him in on all that he doesn't currently know.

Now for the not so funny. During the period from 2004 through 2009, the DPR found time to take some 143 all-expenses paid comparative study tours from the public purse. Each of these 'tours' is supposed to generate a written report detailing the knowledge gained. The grand return from 143 tours is 3 reports. Yes, readers, that is three, 3, tiga reports. Of these three reports one of them is a one-page itinerary. Now, the data comes from some good friends of mine at PSHK (Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies or Pusat Studi Hukum dan Kebijakan). If you want to know more about these things then feel free to contact them.

If I was Nudirman, I would be hoping that I stayed high on the Golkar ticket because I almost certainly would not want to have to return to the real world and get a real job that did not involve the inexcusable and almost unaccountable waste of public funds on useless study trips.

But, while you're there Nudirman please don't forget the oleh-oleh! And, a photo standing in front of Big Ben as I am pretty sure that is not available on the internet.

Tommy Soeharto Mulling A Presidential Run...

Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle.

It is not like Indonesia does not have serious enough problems to deal with already. But, this kind of announcement is always mildly amusing and distracting enough to divert people's attention for at least a little while from the more serious problems, like increasing religious intolerance.

However, when you feel like the press is not giving you enough attention, then an absurd announcement will undoubtedly get you that attention. This is in addition to doing something sufficiently scandalous to get the gossip shows to show you a little love.

So, in this vein, Tommy Soeharto, the youngest and most ambitious of the former president's children has acknowledged that if political parties were interested in nominating him for the top job in 2014, then he would be more than willing to consider it. My main man for the 2014 nomination is actually a woman. I think Sri Mulyani Indrawati (SMI) would make an excellent reforming president. She would be up against it, but I reckon she has the ovarian fortitude to go hammer and tong against established interests like Aburizal Bakrie, and win.

But, I digress, this is a post about how funny it is that a convicted murderer and purveyor of graft reckons he is seriously a shot at a nomination. Tommy Soeharto was sentenced to 15 years in the slammer for his part in the assassination of an Indonesian Supreme Court Justice, Syafiuddin Kartasasmita. Kartasasmita was the judge that sentenced him in an earlier graft case.

What is truly funny is that Soeharto thinks he is even a chance at getting any votes. Let's face it, his most recent foray into the political arena was a crack at the Chair of Golkar which was a failure of super proportions; the man could not garner any votes. So, any political parties out there thinking that Tommy is an option, really need to consider taking a reality pill.

The man is tarnished goods.

It is time that someone got into Tommy's ear and told him some home truths, "Son, you are a convicted murderer, you have been convicted for being corrupt, you are no shot at political office, you are so tarnished as a political entity that we could not sell your candidacy to people who were all deaf, blind and dumb. Sorry mate, but even those people who could not hear, see or talk the sorts of evil that you are about could still not be convinced to vote for you!"

The Indonesian Economy in 2011 -- 8% Growth

The fun and games have begun in terms of promising the world. Jusuf Kalla (photo courtesy of Viva News and showing the current Vice President's plan for balancing the budget) has promised the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) that if he is elected president in the upcoming presidential elections that his government will deliver economic growth of 8% per year starting in 2011.

However, what is more interesting is the probable means that are to be employed in funding this proposed growth. According to Kalla 8% growth can be achieved because his government would be decreasing state spending (read slash already limited public spending) slashing public spending is most likely to impact most heavily on the poor and those less able to absorb any cuts to public spending.

The second part of the plan is a progressive tax system. It is unclear whether the intent here is to broaden the tax base or ramp up the amount of tax paid by higher income earners or simply better collection practices through enhanced enforcement of the current code. Nevertheless, it is unclear how investors or both domestic and foreign origins will feel about bearing a greater tax burden.

The next plank of the 8% growth platform is a decrease in fuel subsidies. Now, this is always a winning policy amongst the masses, not! However, it seems that Kalla believes that the conversion program from kerosene to gas has worked and that any reduction in fuel subsidies is unlikely to draw the negative public reaction that it has in the past. My guess would be that he might need to think again on this one. That is not to say I am not against the idea of a continual reduction in fuel subsidies, but rather going into a presidential election with this as part of one's election platform is risky at best and silly at worst.

The rest of the measures appear to be linked ot administrative and bureaucratic reforms. The idea of reforming the administration and the bureaucracy is a standard policy platform adopted by just about everyone. However, in the more than 10 years of reformasi to date, it is arguable how much the regimes of Habibe, Gus Dur, Megawati, and Yudhoyono have delivered on reform of the administration and bureaucracy platform. Personal experience on this front would suggest very little at the lower levels of the chain.

I guess if you are inclined to believe Kalla and his arguments for 8% growth then you should vote for him and then if enough people are convinced of his claims then you can wait and see until 2011 and see if he delivers.

My guess is though that people will still choose the incumbent president and his new vice-presidential candidate. SBY needs to hope that not everyone who supports him thinks he is a shoe-in and actually get out to vote. Don't you just love a potential upset?

Compulsory and Optional Voting -- Indonesia

This has appeared previously on en.hukumonline.com - here.

Optional and compulsory voting is always an issue that draws a great deal of commentary. However, when in a country such as Indonesia where voting in a general election is optional, the issuance of a fatwa by the Indonesian Ulema Council (Majelis Ulema Indonesia / MUI) is certain to ratchet up the rate in which commentators express their views, particularly when the fatwa states that not to vote is haram or prohibited where there are qualified Muslim candidates standing.

Indonesia has traditionally had a sizable number of individuals who choose not to exercise their democratic rights and vote. This group is referred to as the Golongan Putih or Golput group. They are in essence a group that abstains from voting. Whether this is an expression of dissatisfaction with the quality of the candidates being offered or a lack of interest is irrelevant. However, some have suggested that it is likely that somewhere around 40%, if not more, of registered voters will not exercise their right to vote in the 2009 elections.

The Muslim community seems split on whether Islam considers the expression of democratic freedom through a decision not to vote is haram. Abdurraham Wahid, who is affectionately known as Gus Dur and who is a former President of Indonesia and an influential figure in Nahdlatul Ulama (Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization), has been active in campaigning for people to take golput seriously.

On the other hand, the Prosperous Justice Party’s (PKS), Hidayat Nur Wahid, explicitly stated that golput is prohibited under Islam and has pro-actively campaigned for the MUI to issue the fatwa. Perhaps, somewhat cynically, Hidayat believes that the PKS is likely to benefit from those disaffected voters who feel compelled to comply with the fatwa.

The House of Representatives (DPR) have also weighed in on the matter with the Head of the DPR, Agung Laksono, arguing that the right to vote implicitly contains a right not to vote and as such golput cannot be haram. According to Laksono, political parties must take heed of the increasing numbers of golput-ers as a sign that political parties have failed in translating their respective visions into policies and action on the ground that positively affects the lives of their constituents. To his mind, the fatwa is a mistake.

The reaction to the fatwa has been widespread and varied. The National Commission on Human Rights (Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia / Komnas HAM) issued a press release on 2 February 2009 that states simply the fatwa is a violation of people’s human rights to exercise the right not to vote. Ifdhal Kasim, the Head of Komnas HAM, stated that the right to vote or not to vote was a basic human right that cannot and must not be interfered with.

He cites that this is a Constitutional guaranteed right that has been further strengthened with provisions in Law No. 39 of 199 and Law No. 2 of 2005. Ifdhal points out that the government has already ratified the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which means that “societies or government could not limit this right through prohibition, criminalization, or imposing moral sanctions on people who did not use their right to vote”.

The General Election Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum / KPU) who is tasked in carrying out the election, according to Ifdhal, is restricted by its mandate in that it does not allow them to issue any regulations which would impinge on the absolute rights of individuals to choose whether they vote or do not vote in a general election. However, the Head of the KPU, Abdul Hafiz Anshary, has been vocal in his support of the fatwa issued by the MUI. He has openly and publicly wondered why the MUI has only acted now on this issue.

According to Hafiz it is the MUI’s responsibility to supervise Muslims in order to see that Muslims exercise their rights in terms of voting for qualified Muslim candidates. In fact, Hafiz was unequivocal in stating that “not only cigarette are haram, but golput also haram.” This is in reference to another MUI fatwa that prohibits cigarette smoking in certain circumstances.

It is worth noting that MUI fatwas are not binding in a legal sense and it remains to be seen whether the fatwa has any moral force in terms of convincing potential golput-ers to vote.

(RAB / SH)

Bakrie -- Will They or Won't They?

The Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) announced on Wednesday (5/11) that they were going to lift the suspension on trade that had been in effect on PT Bumi Resources. However, not long after this announcement was made, and presumably a few phone calls later, another announcement was made. The second announcement was that the suspension in trade would remain in force.

The issue is seemingly becoming less transparent and more complex. The press release issued by the Bakrie Group of Companies suggested that the deal was between Northstar and Bumi Resources with a number of SOEs also buying into the USD 1.3 deal. Word on the street is that the role of the SOEs is far from certain as is any stake they might take up. It seems that the current state of affairs is that there is a tentative deal in place for Northstar to provide finance.

In terms of the announcements, there are relieable sources suggesting that the current Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs / Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani, was in favour of lifting the suspension. This would suggest that the subsequent announcement to reinstate the suspension came from someone higher up the food chain. This would most likely be the President.

It is unlikely to be the Vice President. Simply, the more trouble Bakrie is in the easier it will be for Kalla to exert his influence over Golkar. It is reported that the current President ascended the top job in part because of funds supplied by Bakrie (this might explain the loyalty shown to one of cabinet's most poorly performing Ministers). The reality is that the deeper the hole Bakrie finds himself in the less likely it is that he can be King or Queen Maker in the upcoming elections.

Nevertheless, the mere fact that the government became involved in the lifting of the suspension is a loser in the "court of public opinion", as it will be seen as protecting the interests of a cabinet Minister and not about protecting the interests of the State. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant in the court of public opinion, if it smells bad and it looks bad, then it is bad! The fact that the presidential spokesman comes out and says that Bakrie companies are not his concern is hardly reassuring.

That said, the logic on keeping the suspension in place is that as soon as the suspension is lifted it is likely people holding Bumi shares will seek to offload even with a purported deal in place.

The deal between Northstar and Bakrie plus the SOEs is supposed to be complete within 28 days. I wonder whether the suspension will stay in place until the deal is signed, sealed, and delivered?

Ah, must be nice to be the Coordinating Minister of the Bakrie Family Welfare, oops I meant to say the Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare (photo -- always smiling and why wouldn't you be?).

The Pornography Bill Passes the DPR

The Pornography Bill finally passed the House of Representatives (DPR - photo) today. This brings to a close the debate on whether to enact the law or not. However, the passage was not without some fireworks with the PDIP and PDS factions walking out along with a couple of Golkar legislators.

The walkout might seem like it was a protest at the content of the bill. However, the walkout really stems from a belief that the procedural requirements for the passage of legislation were not met. Specifically, the claim is that the bill was never "socialized" to the community. This socialization is mandated by law. The walkouts also had some issues with the substantive matter of the bill too.

In terms of the substance the walkouts have issues with the definition of pornography and particularly the broad nature of it. Those that walked out cited for example that body movements could constitute pornography if they offended someone. This means that singer/dancers like Inul and Dewi Persik are likely to fall foul of the law.

This is particularly bothersome for the walk outs when it is combined with Articles 20 - 22. These articles are problematic because of the purported scope they give to the community to play a role in preventing the spread of pornography.

Anyways, the bill has passed and is now awaiting the signature of the President. We will soon find out whether this has all been a storm in a teacup or whether those with fears will see those fears realized.

Celebrity Politics

The idea of using celebrity in politics is not a new phenomenon and it is not unheard of that celebrity translates to power at the ballot box. Let's face it if an actor in B-grade movies can reach the White House and become a revered political leader where people still talk favourably of the Reagan years and Reaganism then why should any body be surprised if similar things happen in Indonesia, albeit on a much smaller stage to date in the West Java elections for Governor.

The Indonesian parliament has a good cross-section of the Indonesian entertainment industry populating its halls of power. As Indonesia enters into an election cycle the political horse trading that goes on to get candidates into the fold will start in earnest. In a country with a population of more than 220 million and myriad gossip shows the reality is that celebrities are often much more recognizable than politicians.

Even where celebrities are not on the ticket they are high profile in a campaign as they come out to support various other candidates. Dangdut singers also make a pretty decent living during the election cycle because just about every campaign stop includes a show! The likes of Dewi Persik are sure to see a financial windfall over the next 18 months even if they do not endorse particular candidates or parties.

Anyway back to the point of this post. The Governor and Deputy Governor-elect in the province of West Java includes in the Deputy Governor slot Dede Yusuf. Dede Yusuf is an actor in both soaps and advertisements (his face is plastered all over the sides of buses as he flogs a headache medication), he is also a former Tae Kwon Do champion, and now a politician. His political credentials are perhaps a little slim in terms of pickings but to all intents and purposes he is pretty much a new-comer to politics as a member of the Amien Rais founded National Mandate Party (PAN).

The Governor-elect is from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and has been a member of the Jakarta Legislature for the 2004 - 2009 period. His celebrity is much lower profile than his Deputy although he has been recognized in some political circles as a bit of a shaker & mover. See, it was even possible to write a couple of sentences without even writing his name, Ahmad Heryawan.

Both the Governor and Deputy Governor-elect appear to be relatively clean in terms of not having any lingering corruption issues and not being "tainted" with too close an affiliation with the New Order of Soeharto. Why do I mention this, only because these two issues seem to resonate with voters.

The Governor and Deputy Governor-elect although not saying so publicly do not see celebrity as a major factor in their victory. Most commentators are putting the win down to superior credentials and better grass-roots organizing.

If there is a phenomenon here it has been the ability of the PKS to mobilize voters and get them to voting booths. The celebrity angle might be a factor in who was chosen but the cold hard reality is that you have to get the people from their homes to polling locations and get them to vote. PKS seems to have done this better than the other parties that are affiliated with the candidates in second and third spots.

Heading into a general election cycle this should be a warning to the bigger parties such as Golkar and the PDI-P that the 2009 election will not let them rest on their laurels as big parties they are going to have to mobilize their considerable resources to getting the people to polling stations or some of these newer parties are going to steal their thunder.

However, it was interesting to see that the President put a little bit of perspective into the debate by suggesting that when it is all said and done they were but a Governor and Deputy Governor elect and would have to operate and run West Java in line with national policy and objectives. This was based on the President's belief that he,and he alone, holds the mandate to govern from the people and in essence they should toe the national line.

Yet, the power of celebrity is this, the incumbent managed to run in third place out of the three pairs running, even though he should have been able to capitalize on his incumbency. The second place-getters included a former Soeharto era Minister, an retired army officer, and a relatively high profile post-army life, in Agum Gumelar.

The Governor and Deputy Governor-elect could not even vote in the election because their identity cards register them as residents of Jakarta and not West Java! So, obviously there are no requirements to be resident in the electorate at the time of the vote. Admittedly, Bandung is not that far from Jakarta, but all the same as a matter of principle one would have thought elected office would require residency.

Election Laws - President

The packet of election laws is slowly but surely navigating its way through the parliamentary system. The most recent of these is the draft law on the Election of a President. This is a law that has significant and long-term ramifications for Indonesian politics. The current thinking sees a return to the party politics of the past which is counter to the intent in the post-Soeharto period of making the post of President one that was elected directly by the people.

The current law requires that candidates have the support of at least 15% of the parties elected to parliament. This in theory gives the smaller parties more clout in nominating a candidate that might have broad public appeal. This is how it worked for the Democratic Party in 2004 and particularly for their candidate, the current President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). The Democratic party secured about 10% of the popular vote but after forming an alliance with other parties got of the nominating threshold.

The proposal is that the threshold be raised to 30%. No one party secured 30% of the popular vote in 2004. The closest was Golkar with 28% and PDI-P with almost 23% followed Golkar. It would seem that increasing the threshold would most benefit these parties because the smaller parties would have to align themselves with the bigger parties if they wanted to get a say in the nominating process. However, if a smaller party came up with a candidate that had widespread name recognition and a high-level of electability then perhaps the larger parties might throw their support behind the smaller party. In this sense, Indonesia already has a history of doing this as SBY was nominated by the Democratic Party and was supported by Golkar who then put Jusuf Kalla on the ticket.

Yet, more critical to the debate here is that the new thresholds seem designed to keep the smaller parties at bay and institutionalize the Presidential nominating process in such a way that new and younger candidates who are not affiliated with a 'big' political party will never see the light of day.

Many people wonder why Indonesia is taking so long to reform on the legal, political, and social fronts after Soeharto fell from power but a quick look at the entrenched interests involved in stalling the reform process reads as a who's who of the New Order's school of politics. A reading of the list of past Indonesian presidents highlights that all of Indonesia's presidents since the fall of Soeharto have cut their political teeth under a regime that was rotten to the core.

So, I am not surprised that the parties of the past and seeking to return electoral laws to the past in a somewhat draconian measure to remove potential political opposition.

The mantra that change takes time is beginning to wear thin and it will not be too far into the future that Indonesian citizens will demand more radical change, at least radical in terms of the amount of time they are prepared to wait to see this change happen.

It would seem that if Golkar and PDI-P manage to insert this 30% clause into the draft and then force it through the DPR that the biggest beneficiaries of this will be Jusuf Kalla and Megawati Soekarnoputri...