In Indonesia, people have always been forced to vote for figures they do not exactly know as their representatives. It is the political parties that decide who should be on the candidate list, of which the public then gets to vote into power.

Therefore, the quality of Indonesian politics and democracy, and in turn, law and policy, very much depends on the quality of the parties' candidates.

However, political parties are among the country's most corrupt institutions, which are known for recruiting people based on how much they are willing to pay. It is never about capacity, capability or achievement. It is always a matter of money and how close a candidate is to the party's powerful.

It is how close you are to Aburizal Bakrie, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Megawati Soekarnoputri, or Prabowo Subianto that is the foundation for a fruitful career in politics. There has never been a system of merit. There has never been proper recruitment that allows people to work their way up the ladder.

Out of nowhere, people with questionable track records, but fistfuls of cash, are nominated as candidates, and then become lawmakers.

Therefore, most of these people are of dubious moral and intellectual character. They are supposed to be the people's representatives, but they never have any intentions of becoming that. They fight for their personal interests, steal state money, misuse state facilities, horse trade and simply accumulate personal wealth and power.

What we saw in the past several days, as the outgoing lawmakers passed a law eliminating the right to directly vote local leaders, and how new legislators physically fought each others in a televised meeting, are blatant displays of insanity.

How can we allow these corrupt figures to determine the fate of more than 240 million Indonesians? It is time for a revolution in the way political parties are run and how we choose our representatives.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/opinion/editorial-insanity-norm-indonesian-politics/