Generals in Regional Elections

Posted by AsiaViews | Jan 7, 2018 | 0 |

Tempo

5 Jan 2018

THE appearance of serving military and police officers as regional head candidates demonstrates the failure of political parties to produce leaders. Without any clear system for political recruitment, parties only sell tickets to power to anyone who wants it and has the money. As one of the primary pillars of democracy, political parties have failed to carry out their duty as institutions to select leadership candidates based on meritocracy.

As a result, transactional politics is inevitable. Those interested in running for mayor, regent and governor were forced to compete based on popularity, so that they will be considered in surveys. They have also become unexpectedly diligent in visiting party offices and mass supporter basis to garner support. All that clearly requires large funding.

Hence the political arena has become rather like soap operas in competition for viewers. Parties will choose regional head candidates based on their money and popularity. Whether the candidate is only popular because of famous parents or because of good looks does not seem important. Vision and leadership qualities are secondary-exactly like soap operas, where performance is not important as long as actors on screen are easy on the eye.

Given these facts, nominating police and military generals still in service as regional heads is an inappropriate shortcut. Their participation in regional head elections poses potential problems because their subordinates still remain (in the police and military), something that is prone to abuse.

Additionally, serving as a regional head in an area where the community is diverse clearly requires a specific set of skills in this democratic climate with its freedom of expression. Generals in the habit of leading through a non-dynamic system of command may not have that competency.

Police and military officers do of course have the same political rights as other citizens. This is already clear under the constitution. But it seems prudent to allow a break before they can participate in elections and become politicians. This is important in order to maintain the neutrality and professionalism of both the police and military.

Parties also must develop a system for recruitment and a clear career path for their cadres to fill leadership positions at the city, regency, province and national levels. Those interested must climb a political ladder that will shape, toughen and test them before they are proposed as candidates.

In a mature democracy, leaders emerge from the lower levels. They are experienced in working with the populace, solving people’s everyday problems, have an understanding of psychology and mass sociology, as well as how to be effective leaders. All these leadership competencies cannot be forced to ripen overnight based only on one’s popularity or money.

In the United States, for example, Barack Obama became president only after 10 years as a public lawyer in Chicago, 20 years as a member of the Illinois parliament, not to mention a senator. Meanwhile, his rival John McCain had a military background. But one year after he left the military in 1981, he began his political career by becoming a congressman, representing Arizona.

Indonesia’s political parties have a lot to learn from parties in countries with mature democracies. We don’t want our parties to continue to simply function as political vehicles for those seeking power.

(source:https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2018/01/05/314914573/Generals-in-Regional-Elections)

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Generals in Regional Elections