People can be Unserved

Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo

The House of Representatives (DPR) held the 16th Plenary Session for Session IV 2020-2021 at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Friday (9/4/2021). The meeting was attended virtually by 232 board members and 56 people were present in the Plenary Meeting room.

Gerhard J. Falk, a sociology professor at State University of New York (SUNY) College at Buffalo in the United States, once wrote: “Politicians also claim that they also serve. It’s true."

Falk\'s statement, published in Bangsa Mati di Tangan Politikus: Perilaku Politik Zaman Now (The nation dies in the hands of politicians: Political behavior today) by senior journalist Dr. M. Subhan S.D. (Kompas Penerbit Buku, 2019), should cause anxiety today. The Indonesian nation is now very much determined by the direction of politicians, who are full of vested interests. According to Falk, “Politicians serve themselves.”

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo\'s presence on the national stage, even up to his second term in office, cannot be separated from politicians’ role and involvement. The 1945 Constitution also emphasizes that presidential and vice presidential candidates can only be nominated by political parties or a coalition of parties. There are no individual candidates, as is the case in the elections of regional heads. Politicians and political parties are the ones that decide.

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President Jokowi is not a party leader. He is a party worker, and does not have the “power” to move party cadres to do or not do something. However, a president is the head of state and of government, a leader who serves and improves the welfare of the people.

During a five-year term, the party that backs the president will usually offer full support until the next election, especially if the president is eligible for reelection. If it is the second presidential term, like President Jokowi now, political parties and party leaders will only start preparing for the election about two years before the term ends, as has been the case with previous presidents.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

Rows of flags of political parties participating in the 2019 Simultaneous Elections in the Senayan area, Jakarta, Sunday (7/4/2019).

This time is different, however. President Jokowi has just entered the second year of his second term. As this daily reported, “Political Year Seems to be Coming Faster” (Kompas, 9/6/2021), as well as the news report, "Engineering the 2024 Presidential Candidates" (Kompas, 11/6/2021). Aside from the media, a number of survey institutions have reported polling results for candidates in the upcoming election.

Party leaders have begun their maneuvering, from lobbying other parties or mass visits to the regions. A number of political elites and officials, including regional heads, ministers, and state administrators who feel they have a chance at leading this country, have also begun “safari” tours to gain popular sympathy. Those without party backing do not want to be left behind and lose their chance. Almost all want to become politicians, to serve themselves.

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As a matter of fact, according to Article 5, Paragraph (6) of Law No. 28/1999 on State Administrators that are Clean and Free of Corruption, Collusion, and Nepotism, state officials are mandated to carry out their duties with utmost responsibility, may not commit disgraceful acts that are not selfless acts for the greater good, whether for personal interests or the interests of their family, cronies or group, and may not expect any illicit rewards. The duty of state administrators is to serve the people so as to realize prosperity.

If the majority of state administrators are beginning to prepare for the battle for power in the election, who will look after serving the people? Hopefully, the President\'s voice will still be heard.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.