Anita Rachman – The ruling Democratic Party has taken a serious hit in public perception after being rocked by graft scandals implicating its former treasurer, Muhammad Nazaruddin, according to a recent survey.
An Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) poll released on Sunday showed that the Democrats were no longer at the top of the political heap for the first time since winning the 2009 general elections. The party slipped to 15.5 percent in the popularity survey from 20.5 percent in January.
Forty-one percent said they were aware of the graft case in which Nazaruddin allegedly accepted kickbacks in a Southeast Asian Games construction deal, 53.7 percent of whom believed the lawmaker was involved.
The results also showed that 45.3 percent believed other members of the party had a role in the scandal. The LSI polled 1,200 respondents from June 1-7.
Denny J.A., the LSI's founder and chairman, said the Golkar Party had overtaken the Democrats in the public opinion survey at 17.9 percent. He said about 70 percent of respondents were swing voters, tending not to have fixed loyalties and supporting rival parties in the event of a scandal involving their former favorites.
Denny said the Democrats would need to take immediate steps to recover from the loss of support, including taking a hard line against Nazaruddin.
The lawmaker is in Singapore allegedly for medical treatment and has ignored a summons for questioning from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
"The voters want this case to be thoroughly resolved," Denny said, citing 41.2 percent of respondents who believed the Democratic Party was not being firm enough with its errant member.
Saan Mustopha, the party's deputy secretary general, said his party paid close attention to the results of polls carried out by independent institutions.
However, he said an earlier poll carried out by the Indonesian Survey Institute, also known as the LSI, had shown the Democrats still leading the ratings for political factions. "That survey was carried out recently, at the end of May, when people were already talking about Nazaruddin," Saan said.
But the institute's poll, released on May 29, showed a slight dip in the party's popularity, with 18.9 percent saying they would vote for Democratic candidates if an election were held that month, down from 20.8 percent during the general elections in 2009.
The opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) came in second with 16.7 percent, up from 14.1 percent in 2009. Golkar, which finished second in the elections, came third in the survey with 12.5 percent.
Hamdi Muluk, a political psychology expert from University of Indonesia, said respondents' answers in such surveys depended largely on how the questions were framed.
"Negative framing would [result in] negative answers," he said, adding that polling companies should be transparent about who was funding their surveys.
However, Hamdi also said that Indonesian voters tended to forget scandals very quickly and there was still a "plenty of chances for parties to make changes."