Nivell Rayda, Rangkasbitung – Banten was just waking up. Aside from the gauntlet of trucks hauling electronic appliances and motorcycles and plastic household goods to neighboring Jakarta and westward to the island of Sumatra, the black asphalt-covered toll road sandwiched between rows of factories owned by various multinational companies seemed deserted.
And the road grew even more desolate with each passing kilometer as cars moved away from the capital city. It was not only becoming quieter but also more and more deteriorated forcing trucks and cars to slow down and compete over one single lane kept open while construction works to cover massive potholes takes place on the other two other lanes.
The work went on for several kilometers. Once the traffic was free to occupy all three lanes, more roadworks were waiting up ahead. It is hard to imagine the roads could get any worse, but get off the highway, and narrow, pot-holed lanes are the norm.
Banten holds many paradoxes. It is one of the richest provinces in Indonesia, according to a 2013 Finance Ministry report, with Rp 6 trillion ($528 million) in provincial revenue and an annual growth of 21 percent – the highest in the country – but with a road system in a highly advanced state of disrepair.
It is a province that is ruled by a powerful family that enjoys massive wealth, drives luxury cars and has properties scattered across Indonesia, Australia and Singapore – and yet 52 percent of its residents live on less than $2 a day and as many as 12,000 children are undernourished, according to 2011 local government statistics.
The family has ruled for 12 years with little oversight or criticism, even with widely reported cases of schools crumbling because of shoddy construction as well as cases of neglected bridges collapsing, sometimes with deadly consequences.
It was only recently that any attention was turned to these paradoxes and to the administration of Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, who first came to power as deputy governor in 2002 and then became governor in 2005. And the criticism has seemed to intensify ahead of this year's elections, with Atut's rivals ready to exploit her downfall after she and her brother, Tubagus Chaeri "Wawan" Wardana, were arrested and charged by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) with bribery, embezzlement and bid-rigging.
The five dynasties
"There are five dynasties in Banten and the other four are moving quickly to take advantage of Atut's problems so they can push their own agendas and expand their own dynasties," says Dahnil Anzar, a lecturer at Banten's Tirtayasa University, who has monitored the political dynasties in the province. "They have been calling for end to corruption, end to poverty and increased development. But [people] know what they are like. These people said nothing before because they are also entangled with corruption cases."
In Pandeglang district there is the family of former district head Achmad Dimyati Natakusuma, who became a legislator at the House of Representatives after his term ended in 2009. But just before he left office he nominated his wife Irna Narulita to be his successor. She lost to Erwan Kurtubi, whose running mate was none other than Atut's stepmother, Heryani.
The port town of Cilegon is ruled by the family of former mayor Aat Syafaat; his son Iman Ariadi is now in charge. Meanwhile, the district of Tangerang is governed by Ahmed Zaki Iskandar, the son of former Tangerang district head Ismet Iskandar.
But the Atut family's biggest rival in the province is the family of former Lebak district head Mulyadi Jayabaya, who successfully passed on his seat to his daughter, Iti Octavia, in an election last year in which she defeated a challenge form Atut's longtime friend Amir Hamzah.
It was Atut's bid to take control of Lebak that ultimately led to her downfall.
Wawan, who is said to be the brains of the family, was arrested last October on suspicion of bribing Akil Mochtar, then the chief justice of the Constitutional Court with Rp 1 billion to rule in favor of a challenge brought by Amir against the result of the election.
The bribe was transacted a day after Akil and his panel of judges annulled Iti's election win and ordered a revote – as sought by Amir. After the revote, Iti was declared winner for a second time. The KPK was able to trace the bribe money back to Atut, who was arrested last December.
In Akil's indictment, KPK prosecutors alleged that Wawan and Atut allegedly paid the judge Rp 7.5 billion in 2011 to secure Atut's victory in the disputed gubernatorial election.
Atut's arrest also compelled the antigraft agency to look into at the litany of previous corruption allegations against her family lodged by activists since she became deputy governor in 2002, ranging from bid-rigging to embezzlement to bribery.
The KPK has since opened an investigation against Atut on suspicion of bid-rigging and markups in connection with the procurement of health equipment between 2011 and 2013, which allegedly caused state losses of over Rp 30 billion.
Strategic placement
But activists say the KPK has only scratched the surface. Part of the reason why corruption was rampant during Atut's reign, Tirtayasa University's Dahnil says, is closely linked to how Atut managed to get family members and friends into strategic executive and legislative posts as well as in government agencies and social organizations.
Indonesia Corruption Watch coordinator Ade Irawan says Atut has at least 30 family members in influential posts. "Not to mention members of the extended family or those affiliated with the family," Ade says, adding that the total number of officials in Banten with ties to Atut could be in the hundreds.
This allowed the family to gain full control of how regional budgets were planned, spent, disbursed and monitored with little oversight or criticism, says Siti Zuhro, a political expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). "Dynasties makes it easy to run a government that is neither transparent nor accountable. They dominate the area's social, political and economic landscape to such an extent nothing can get done without their say-so," she says.
Throughout much of Banten, an antigraft drive seems to be the main theme touted by Atut's rivals. Each group, backed by their own supporters, has been distributing campaign pamphlets with pictures of themselves and words like "clean" and "change" and "honest."
But Dahnil only laughs when asked if these candidates are sincere. "To tell you the truth, they are opportunists acting like they are heroes," he says.
In 2009, Dimyati, the head of the political dynasty in Pandeglang, was named a suspect for bribery and fraud by the prosecutors' office, but was acquitted of all charges by the district court in 2011.
Last year, activists from the Islamic Student Association (HMI) demanded the KPK investigate irregularities in Mulyadi's massive wealth, saying it had grown substantially during his time as Lebak chief.
Meanwhile, Aat, the Cilegon patriarch, is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for his role in a corruption case linked to the construction of a port during his time as mayor.
But political parties seem to care little about their track record, giving these people the backing they need to expand their dynasties in the hope of ending Atut's rule and that of her political vehicle, Golkar.
The family of Lebak's Mulyadi has children and other family members running for the House with the Democratic Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Dimyati of Pandeglang is a sitting legislator from the United Development Party (PPP), while Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim and his son Fadlin Akbar are Democrats.
Even inside Golkar, there is an apparent power struggle, with the Cilegon and Tangerang district dynasties looking to head the party's provincial chapter, now chaired by Atut's sister, Ratu Tatu Chasanah.
But Atut's family is not going to lose its grip on Banten without a fight. Atut's eldest son, Andhika Hazrumy, who is a sitting member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), is now eyeing a seat in the House, while his sister, Andiara Aprilia Hikmat, is looking to replace her brother at the DPD. Andhika's wife and Andiara's husband are also both eyeing seats in the provincial legislature.
ICW's Ade says that by using entrenched political dynasties, parties can gain the trust of local voters by offering them familiar names and faces with access, influence and supporters. But ultimately, parties gain access to a more lucrative side of politics in Banten.
"Building a political dynasty is all about power, to have control over public coffers," Ade says. "When a dynasty is in power, the monitoring duties of the executive and the legislature weaken.
"Businesses cannot expand without the help, consent and involvement of the dynasty, so every year there are projects that are awarded to dynasty members or joint ventures. In Banten there are 900 to 1,000 government programs every year and these dynasties have control over most of them."
Nationwide scourge
And this is true for all political dynasties across Indonesia. The province of South Sulawesi is run by Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo. Syahrul was once the district head of Gowa, a position that was preceded by his father, Muhammad Yasin Limpo, and now held by his brother, Ichsan.
Syahrul also has brothers, sisters, sons and in-laws at the regional legislature and the House. His wife, Ayunsri Harahap, heads the province's biggest hospital. According to Rahmat Zena, a journalist based in South Sulawesi, the family's wealth has grown exponentially since Muhammad first built his political empire. And nobody has asked them to explain where it all comes from.
Just like in South Sulawesi, no one in Lampung province is questioning how the family of Governor Sjachroedin Zainal Pagaralam, whose father is a former governor and whose two sons sit as head and deputy head of two different districts, obtained its massive fortune.
While the members of the dynasty live a wealthy lifestyle under Sjachroedin's rule, Lampung went from being a prominent industrial zone and major transportation route linking Sumatra to the rest of the country, to one of the poorest regions in Indonesia.
Lampung also saw 70 percent of its forest being cleared for plantations and logging concessions since Sjachroedin came to power in 2003, but poverty remains rampant while infrastructure is left in decay. "It is hard to get data for where the money went," says one Lampung-based journalist.
While no dynasty approaches Atut's in scale, for now, there are at least 25 family groups ruling different parts of Indonesia, according to a list compiled recently by Republika newspaper.
These dynasties have a lot in common: succession and distribution of power to family members and their cronies; lack of transparency and accountability; absence of critical voices and challenge to rule; control over resources; and in most cases, a neglect of infrastructure and development. Another thing they share is that all have experienced a surge in family fortunes in a short period of time.
"Democracy is closely related to education. We have poorly educated voters. Poverty is rampant so they are easily lured by vote buying," says Siti of LIPI when asked how dynasties are able to evolve.
At the national level, no one is providing a good example. Despite having little political experience Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, the youngest son of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who chairs the Democratic Party, quickly rose within the party's ranks to become its secretary general – second only to his father in the hierarchy.
Meanwhile, Pramono Edhie Wibowo, Yudhoyono's brother-in-law, has became a leading contender to be the party's pick for presidential candidate, despite having no political experience whatsoever and scoring low in popularity surveys.
It's a similar tale with the PDI-P and Puan Maharani, the daughter of former president and party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri. Megawati herself is the daughter of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno. "Officials in the central government are setting a bad example because they are creating their own dynasties," Siti says.
"This must serve as a lesson for where our democracy is heading. It is important to empower civil society for oversight. It is also important from a legal, regulatory standpoint to minimize the chance of these dynasties getting even more power or at least limit their destructive power through regulations like the elections law."
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/dynasties-line-banten-power-grab-wake-ratu-atuts-downfall/