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Indonesia:
Passions Cool as Scepticism Grows
By Tim Dodd
Jakarta - Indonesia's victorious next president, Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, successfully played on deep dissatisfaction
with incumbent leader Megawati Soekarnoputri to chalk up
a huge victory in yesterday's poll.
But how much does his strong vote reflect the level of popular
enthusiasm and confidence in his presidency?
Judging by the mood of the voters yesterday and during the
short campaign, Indonesians - who have endured three years
of little action from Mrs Megawati - are not looking forward
to his presidency with any excitement or anticipation.
Yesterday afternoon, as officials publicly counted votes
at a polling station in central Jakarta outside the house
of Mr Yudhoyono's vice-presidential running mate, Jusuf
Kalla, there was no enthusiasm from the small group of onlookers
as the Yudhoyono-Kalla team opened up a huge lead over Mrs
Megawati, winning the booth 169-47.
In contrast, at Indonesia's first democratic election following
the fall of Soeharto in 1999, the vote count at the same
booth was watched by a raucus crowd of hundreds who greeted
the many votes for Mrs Megawati's PDI-P party with cheers
and the few for Soeharto's Golkar party with jeers.
Nor was it just on polling day that exuberance was missing
from this election. During the campaign the usual street
banners and marches were nearly absent - in sharp contrast
to 1999.
The malaise may be due to the fact that yesterday's poll
was the third full national election Indonesia has had this
year - first for the parliament in April, then for the presidency
in July and, because no one won more than 50 per cent, a
run-off yesterday between the top two candidates.
And while those earlier election campaigns were more colourful
than this latest one (in which street rallies were banned
for the sake of public order) they still did not have the
carnival flavour of former years.
"People don't rant and rave and carry on in the streets
[in election campaigns] as much as they used to," said
Kevin Evans, an electoral adviser to the United Nations
Development Program in Jakarta. He sees the change as a
positive one. "Maybe it [the electoral process] is
becoming more substantial," he said.
However, Mr Evans also believes there is a need for average
Indonesian voters to advance their understanding of democracy
and realise that voting day is more than a colourful holiday.
During the Soeharto era, exuberance ran high in the tightly
controlled elections, which were known as "festivals
of democracy" even though most dissenting candidates
were banned. Now the voting is less festive but far more
meaningful.
"But people have to get an understanding of what the
power of the vote is," Mr Evans said.
But Indonesia's new style of election campaigning also leads
to ironies. The biggest political statement on Jakarta's
main thoroughfare, Jalan Thamrin, this week is not a political
banner but an enigmatic billboard advertising Sampoerna
cigarettes.
"Bersatu menutup malu" (United we cover the shame)
screams the billboard.
That may be the real message for Mr Yudhoyono. Indonesians
are tired of the shame of corruption and poor economic performance.
M (TD/AFR/IM)
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