Sara Schonhardt, Jakarta – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday took the presidential oath of office before Indonesia's 240 million people, marking the beginning of his second term in office and raising hopes for a sustained period of political stability in what is arguably shaping into Southeast Asia's strongest and most vibrant democracy.
Voters re-elected the reformist former general by a landslide in July's presidential elections, following on his Democrat Party's win at legislative polls in April. But in the months since human rights groups and civil society activists have expressed concerns that Yudhoyono is amassing power in ways similar to the early phases of former dictator Suharto's New Order regime, which ruled in authoritarian fashion for over three decades.
If the new parliament and its perceived low level of political maturity is a test case, then there could be reasons for concern over Yudhoyono's consolidation of power. More than 70% of the members of the lower house, or People's Representative Council (DPR), are new elects. An ambitious training agenda for the rookie representatives set out by the House Secretariat in cooperation with advisory agencies such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has not yet taken place.
That partially has to do with new members' disapproval of the orientations' substance, which were drafted by senior parliamentary members and included topics such as table manners. Once they were inaugurated on October 1, however, the members became more concerned with committee positions and political horse-trading, according to Frank Feulner, a parliamentary advisor with the UNDP.
Yudhoyono has the support of around 60% of the electorate and having parliament on his side could lead to the passage of various laws that benefit voters. But one of the DPR's main functions is oversight of the executive and other government officials, a role it wholly failed to play during Suharto's tenure. If parliament is perceived as too weak to push back, analysts say it could lead to a reversal of recent democratic gains in a country that since the time of sultan rule has long looked to strong leaders for guidance.
Collision or collusion?
Indonesia has taken big democratic strides since Yudhoyono took office after the country's first direct presidential elections in 2004. He campaigned and won a second term this year on a platform of tackling corruption and countering terrorism in the world's largest Muslim nation.
To honor those campaign vows, Yudhoyono will have to prove his commitment to reform in the absence of pressure from a political opposition that challenged and upended several of his policy initiatives during his first term. With his ruling coalition controlling an estimated 75% of the 560-seat parliament, also known collectively as the People's Consultative Assembly, Yudhoyono is likely to face less resistance in his second term.
Five of the nine governing parties, including Yudhoyono's own Democratic Party, a host of Islamist parties and Suharto's former political machine Golkar, have in recent weeks given the government their backing. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), chaired by Yudhoyono's presidential predecessor Megawati Sukarnoputri, continues to waffle on its position, but Taufik Kiemas, head of the PDI-P's Central Advisory Board and Megawati's husband, has said the party will not work against the coalition.
Not everyone views party collusion negatively. In an article in the English-language Jakarta Post, Muhammad Izzul Muslimin, chairman of the youth wing of Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah, said the lack of opposition could allow the cabinet to work more smoothly by not hampering necessary new legislation aimed at improving health and education.
But overwhelming political support in parliament and a potential dearth of members of parliament (MPs) who understand their roles and responsibilities could revert parliament into a rubberstamp for legislation originating from the president's office – as it was during the Suharto era. Indonesians already view the legislative and judicial branches tasked with checking the executive as the country's most corrupt institutions, according to a June survey released by Transparency International.
In recent years DPR members began to demand better access to research and documents that would improve their performance as lawmakers. When Secretary General Nining Indra Saleh took over the House in 2007, she pushed for training focused on constituent issues and workloads rather than an "exchange of minds" between incoming and outgoing parliamentarians, many of whom were viewed as corrupt non-performers, said the UNDP's Feulner.
Some of the parties are leading their own orientations for new MPs. One week before his inaugural address, Yudhoyono required all members of his Democratic Party to undergo a three-day session to discuss party discipline and internal relationship dynamics. He also presented a code of conduct, which still needs to be approved by his new ministers, to coalition party leaders in an effort to improve legislative accountability. The Islamist National Mandate Party (PAN) currently holds weekly orientations, and the National Awakening Party (PKS) has brought in experts to present material on the rules and procedures governing MPs' daily activities as well as proper procedures for making points during bill-drafting process. But many of the smaller, less wealthy parties with first time MPs have yet to follow suit.
The parties' political orientations only provide MPs with basic knowledge and fail to relate ways to work towards more transparent and effective governance, said Tommy Legowo, a senior researcher with the non-governmental organization Forum of Citizens Concerned about the Indonesian Legislature (Formappi). "There is no clear direction on what should be done to defend the political views of the parties," he said, predicting the coming year would be hampered by political "disorientation".
The road ahead
After taking the presidential oath, Yudhoyono outlined his goals for the next five years including a promise to improve economic growth, which is expected to expand around 4% this year. He also reiterated his drive to crack down on corruption, promote tolerance and moderation in religious affairs and build up democracy through rule of law reforms aimed at building up the capacity of law enforcement institutions.
Progress in that area has arguably been slow. This month marked the deadline for the military to hand over all its business operations to the state, but according to a statement from rights advocacy Human Rights Watch, the presidential regulation that sets out the guidelines for the takeover is "token change only and doesn't meet the basic requirements of the law". Those commercial interests have complicated domestic conflicts, including in restive Papua where the military continues to come under fire for alleged rights abuses.
Despite Yudhoyono's focus on counter-corruption initiatives, a recent Reform Institute survey showed that nearly 72% of Indonesians hope his new administration will address their welfare concerns. An estimated 32.5 million Indonesians live below the poverty line and Yudhoyono's first government notably missed a target it had set to substantially reduce that stubbornly high figure.
After a closed-door meeting with Yudhoyono over the weekend, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the president spoke of the need to improve economic performance and the welfare of the people. With an ambitious blueprint already on the executive's table, those goals will likely be prioritized when the new parliament opens session through legislative initiatives aimed at boosting the economy and attracting new foreign investment.
Whether parliament properly vets or rubber-stamps those measures will represent a first democratic test of its checking and balancing role.
[Sara Schonhardt is a freelance writer based in Jakarta, Indonesia. She has lived and worked in Southeast Asia for six years and has a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University.]