Golkar’s Old Story

Posted by AsiaViews | Dec 26, 2017 | 0 |

The Jakarta Post

18 Dec 20

The end of the New Order regime in May 1998 marked the start of “years of living dangerously” for the Golkar Party. That it survived the public reprisal in the wake of sweeping reforms nearly 20 years ago and held on to play a pivotal role in national politics proves its mettle, thanks in part to its leaders, who are known for their skills and composure.

It is those in the party’s elite circle, however, who should be held responsible for crisis after crisis plaguing the party that has culminated in the ongoing trial of its former chairman, Setya Novanto, for allegedly playing a central role in the e-ID graft case. Under Setya, who relinquished his Golkar chief post just before he was indicted last Wednesday, Golkar has seen its electability rate nosedive in the run-up to the April 2019 concurrent legislative and presidential elections.

Golkar has finished in second place in four legislative elections held since 1999, which is quite an achievement, indeed, but no one is willing to bet it can maintain such an achievement in the upcoming elections. Unsurprisingly, the party has moved quickly to arrange an extraordinary congress scheduled for this week to confirm a change of guard and lay out the sweeping reform it needs to regain public trust.

After a noisy power struggle, if not deal-making, executives of the party unanimously entrusted on Wednesday Airlangga Hartarto, who is also the trade minister, as the new chairman.

Airlangga’s appointment is unsurprising, given his close link to the President. Internal sources said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had asked his fellow Gadjah Mada University alumnus Airlangga to lead Golkar prior to its 2015 congress in Bali. Airlangga did join the race back then, but eventually threw his support behind Setya, who would go on to win by acclamation.

The rise of Airlangga to the Golkar throne is a testament to the party’s unwavering support for the government of Jokowi, who is slated to attend the opening of the party’s congress on Tuesday, and his reelection bid in 2019.

There is nothing wrong with Golkar’s pragmatic choice of staying inside the power circle, as history has proven the party’s DNA as an integral part of the ruling government. In all four presidential elections held since 1999, Golkar had either nominated its own candidates or joined a losing coalition, but eventually jumped ship to support the elected president.

It is its inability to resist the lure of power that has perhaps been the root of the party’s problems. As the English historian Lord Acton warned in his 1887 letter, power tends to corrupt. The Setya case and many other abuses of power entangling our politicians have proven the prophecy. Post-reform Indonesia has seen corruption devour the hard-won democracy.

Replacing Setya will surely not necessarily save Golkar. Neither will Airlangga’s confirmation as the party’s new skipper, unless he comes up with drastic measures, by first of all choosing figures known for their integrity to fill the party’s board. Time will tell whether Airlangga personifies a new Golkar or just rewrites the same old story.

(source:http://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2017/12/18/editorial-golkars-old-story.html)

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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.”

Golkar’s Old Story