Febriamy Hutapea – A new survey appears to back the view that mainstream political parties in this country are often indistinguishable from one another and could encourage opposition parties to join the cabinet.

The Indonesian Survey Institute poll found that 60.1 percent of 1,220 respondents throughout Indonesia could not even say what constituted an opposition party. The survey found that only 17.9 percent of respondents believed there was an opposition, while 22 percent believed there was no opposition.

Indo Barometer conducted a survey in late August that found that a majority of respondents who voted for the losing parties in the April legislative elections now wanted their parties represented in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's next cabinet.

A total of 40 percent of respondents also said it would be better if all political parties had representatives in the cabinet, according to the survey.

Lili Romli, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said political parties should not use the results of the surveys to legitimize joining the government. "Democracy requires checks and balances so there should be a party that distances itself from the government," he said.

Lili said people's ignorance of the concept of opposition parties was partly because the current main opposition party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), had failed to set a good example.

"The differences which [PDI-P] demonstrates are sometimes not substantial. The criticisms sometimes end up being about political bargaining or power sharing," Lili said.

Lili said criticisms from the opposition party should be based on analysis and delivered carefully because many people still see differences or conflict as taboo.

Reviewing the results of LSI's survey, political analyst Bima Arya from Charta Politika, a private political consultancy, said Indonesia was still searching for the right format for its governmental system.