Camelia Pasandaran – The potential power of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party-led coalition in the House of Representatives could pose a threat to democracy, the Indonesian Civic Network said on Tuesday.
Ray Rangkuti, chairman of the organization, also known as Lima, said that a lack of opposition in the House, or DPR, could weaken the performance of the government.
He pointed to speculation that the Golkar Party might join Yudhoyono's ruling coalition, as well as reports that the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) may follow suit.
He warned there would be no parties willing to protect the people if the government violated their rights or acted against their interests. "At worst, there will be no democracy at all," he said.
Other analysts have also voiced concerns that Yudhoyono's growing coalition threatened the ability of the DPR to provide the necessary checks and balances.
"The opposition in the House should exist to avoid violations within the system," said Andrinof Chaniago, a political analyst at the University of Indonesia.
"There should be someone to watch over violations within the government. How can we have quality policies if there is an absence of control?"
Andrinof said that without a credible opposition voice to monitor the government, only the media and the public would remain as watchdogs.
Benny Susetyo, a religious leader and political analyst, said that Golkar and the PDI-P could hurt themselves and lose popular support if they joined the coalition.
"A good party should have its own ideology," he said. "They should not be in a coalition with other party that have different ideologies. Parties without strong ideologies are neglecting their supporters."
Golkar has never been an opposition party. Many believe that the former political vehicle of former President Suharto will quickly fall into line behind Yudhoyono for its share of the spoils of government, including valued cabinet positions and leadership posts in the various legislative bodies and commissions.
Though the PDI-P under former President Megawati Sukarnoputri gained some traction during its time in opposition, her businessman husband, Taufik Kiemas, has been struggling behind the scenes to align the party with Yudhoyono.
Rangkuti said that political parties were not prepared to lose. Golkar and PDI-P, which both fared poorly in the legislative elections, are now trying "to gain power in coalition with the government," he said.
"Losing parties should be opposition parties. They don't realize that the position of opposition is actually as good as being in government."
Rangkuti also said that with hypocrisy evident in the parties, the public would continue to lose faith in them as trusted institutions.
"Before the election, people specifically voted for Golkar and the PDI-P, as well as for Megawati and Kalla, because they saw them as being distinct from other parties," he said. "This is actually a betrayal of the voters."
Rangkuti said that the lack of an opposition voice had already begun to be felt. "No parties have dared to criticize the government," he said.