| Can Governor Jokowi learn from North Sumatra? Imam Cahyono ; A Muhammadiyah Activist, A Researcher at the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity, Jakarta |
JAKARTA POST, 15 Oktober 2012
| Shortly after a number of quick counts confi rmed his win in the Jakarta election on Sept. 20, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo told the media that the people of the city wanted a change. When he takes office on Oct. 15, he knows he has to realize the public’s expectations. The call for a change has helped Jokowi and his running mate, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, secure the mandate to lead the capital city into a better one. Their success reminds us of Barack Obama, whose mantra of a “Change, we can believe in” offered hope to Americans who were disappointed with George W. Bush. It must be noted that the Jokowi phenomenon is nothing new. A few years ago, Syamsul Arifi n, another outsider, triumphed in the North Sumatra gubernatorial election in 2008. Both Jokowi and Syamsul have much in common, except for the fact that Syamsul was discharged in May this year after the Supreme Court found him guilty of corruption committed when he was the Langkat regent back in 2000-2007. North Sumatra, like Jakarta, is indeed Indonesia in miniature. Home to 12.9 million people, the resource-rich province is a multicultural society, in which tolerance and social harmony is set in place and pluralism is accepted as reality. Political dynamics, however, have been characterized by racial, ethnic, religious and cultural issues but as we saw in Jakarta, common sense and pragmatism prevailed at the election. Syamsul’s victory portrayed a multicultural political landscape. He belongs to the Melayu ethnic group, which accounts for only 5.86 percent of North Sumatra population. His charisma — (personal magnetism according to Weberian) — is an important dimension of his personality that sees him befriended many people, regardless of their political beliefs, ethnicity or religion. He was famously called a friend of all ethnicities (Sahabat Semua Suku). He never orates with formal language. As a legend in Langkat, he was regent for two consecutive terms, hundreds of people used to wait for him every day just to fi le complaints related to problems ranging from land dispute to medical payment. On the eve of Idul Fitri thousands of drivers of motor- powered tricycle and itinerant traders fl ocked outside his offi ce awaiting their holiday bonus. Despite serving his jail term, Syamsul’s infl uence remains visible particularly among the Malay-Muslim community (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 14, 2012). Not only high profi le politicians but also senior military and police offi cers as well as people from lower-income groups — all visited him in prison. He therefore will become a determining factor in the coming gubernatorial race to be held in March 7, 2013. Like Syamsul and his running mate Gatot Pudjonugroho who were nominated by small parties that altogether had 11 seats at the provincial legislative council, Jokowi and Ahok contested the Jakarta elections under the banners of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) party who together control only 17 out of the 94 seats in Jakarta’s legislative council. Worse still, Syamsul’s nomination was not endorsed by Golkar, his party. Looking on the bright side, popular support in an election is not suffi cient to deliver campaign promises. The stiffest challenge comes not from constituents but political elites as we saw with Sukarno, Abdurrahman Wahid and BJ Habibie. A strategy to handle political rivalry is therefore needed as the case of Syamsul’s ousting proved. For Jokowi — to fulfi ll the high expectations of the people is a blessing and big trouble for his competitors. In politics, there are no eternal allies or perpetual enemies but only interest. It is important for Jokowi to avoid transactional politics by keeping his nature as a transformational leader (which is needed to bring changes to Jakarta). Given the political patronage tradition prevalent throughout the country, Jokowi must emerge from the shadows of his two patrons, PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri and Gerindra leader Prabowo Subianto. Many people would say Jakarta is ruled by the governor, who is elected directly. Others may say that it is governed by the legislative council due to its power to pass bylaws which allows it to wield the upper hand in any political contestation. Still, some point to big corporations and other special-interest groups as another power broker. If North Sumatra is rich in natural resources, Jakarta contributes 13 percent to the country’s gross domestic product. The two will always have many business groups fi ghting over the “big pie” of economy. Modern leadership turns out to be less about who you are or how you were born than about what you have learned and what you do. Karl Marx pointed out that men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please but under existing circumstances and those transmitted from the past. Whether Jokowi succeeds or not remains to be seen, but the coming days will be a test of leadership for him. ● |