The
rise of new leaders
and
the bankruptcy of political parties
Moh.
Yasir Alimi, A
RESEARCHER AT THE CENTER FOR CULTURAL PLURALISM, DEMOCRACY AND CHARACTER
BUILDING, SEMARANG STATE UNIVERSITY
Sumber
: JAKARTA POST, 17 Januari 2012
Though the specter of violence — religious,
political and communal — pervaded the tone of 2011, the year also witnessed the
rise of new promising national leaders.
These leaders successfully revived hope and humanity, which were to some extent devastated by the moral violence and political degradation of 2011.
The potential leaders include Mahfud MD (the current chief of the Constitutional Court), Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi (the Surakarta mayor) and Dahlan Iskan (the State-Owned Enterprises minister).
Mahfud bravely challenged the violence so often tolerated by high-ranking state officials. He also sent a clear message about violence, state brutality and the absence of the state in safeguarding the spirit of the nation. His move against Nazaruddin and Andi Nurpati revealed his courage in uncovering the dirty tricks often played by politicians to bury black cases.
Leading the Constitutional Court, Mahfud offers hope about improvements to the country’s justice system, in which it is widely perceived that money talks given that the system largely sides with those who possess power and money.
The next potential leader is Jokowi, who became popular because of his human touch in dealing with the street vendors who occupied the main roads and city parks of Surakarta.
He patiently negotiated with the street vendors so they agreed to relocate to new sites that he had prepared. He successfully won their cooperation after 56 meetings.
Besides providing new sites for the street vendors, Jokowi also advertised the new locations in the media for six months so that they would become known to both locals and tourists in Surakarta.
Eleven associations of street vendors, which between them account for almost 1,000 vendors, eventually accepted Jokowi’s offer despite having previously refused the same proposal put to them by Surakarta’s three prior regents.
During the relocation process, Jokowi also organized a number
of cultural events, including a festival and a parade by the Surakarta Royal Guards corps, which offered a sense of pride and nationalism to the traders.
In return, the mayor placed a small financial burden on the relocated street vendors, charging each of them only Rp 2,600 (28 US cents) per day for their new sites.
Jokowi’s bold move, however, was his decision to use the Esemka Rajawali, a sport utility vehicle (SUV) produced by students from Surakarta’s vocational high schools as his official car. His move has drawn controversy but the people side with him because he is setting an example of living a modest life; of taking the lead in the “love our national products” campaign and promoting this brilliant achievement by the nation’s children.
Meanwhile, Dahlan is popular because of his informal, modest and simple style in simplifying the complicated bureaucracy of state companies. His journalistic experience has helped transform the complex bureaucracy. He did not mind riding on ojek (motorcycle taxis) and trains to experience first-hand the public transportation services, as some public transportation providers come within his ministry’s remit.
The question is: What do these new potential leaders offer on the sociology of leadership and the trends and forces that might shape Indonesian politics in the future?
Mahfud has a background as a university lecturer and a student activist, Jokowi as a businessman and Dahlan as a journalist and businessman. Despite their different backgrounds, personalities and areas of concern, however, they share similar characteristics.
First, they have character and courage. A strong character, honed by years of getting in touch with the people, helps these new leaders to shape and transform the corrupt and immoral way of thinking and codes of conduct that have for years dominated our politics and bureaucracy.
Second, they are tolerant, inclusive and committed to pluralistic principles. Their popularity is a sign of Indonesian’s thirst for tolerant and fearless leaders to set
by example the ways of tolerance and pluralism.
Third, they share a strong commitment to humanity and moral values. They are willing to listen to people and treat them as human beings — not as a collection of two-dimensional figures.
Fourth, they live simple and modest lifestyles, in stark contrast to most members of the Indonesian elite who are occupied with material greed and conspicuous consumption that results in moral degradation. The tendency for greed and consumption has triggered rampant corruption in this country.
Surprisingly, none of the three has direct links with any political party and their rise to prominence, therefore, indicates that political parties have failed to nurture the rise of character and dignified leaders from within.
Politicians have been occupied with greed, consumerism and corruption, thus creating an assumption that political parties are the institutionalized means to serving greed, consumerism and corruption. Such conditions will desensitize young politicians and make them into something that is far removed from the reality of the people.
During the reformasi (reform) era, we had strong leaders such as Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Amien Rais, who were powerful against the mighty Soeharto because of their positions as leaders of mass organizations.
Mahfud, Jokowi and Dahlan do not have such mass support. But they have all the capacity to get such support. Their rise to prominence is a fundamental sign that the nation has changed. The nation’s people are bored with the political system, which is corrupt, violent and insensitive to its citizens. ●
These leaders successfully revived hope and humanity, which were to some extent devastated by the moral violence and political degradation of 2011.
The potential leaders include Mahfud MD (the current chief of the Constitutional Court), Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi (the Surakarta mayor) and Dahlan Iskan (the State-Owned Enterprises minister).
Mahfud bravely challenged the violence so often tolerated by high-ranking state officials. He also sent a clear message about violence, state brutality and the absence of the state in safeguarding the spirit of the nation. His move against Nazaruddin and Andi Nurpati revealed his courage in uncovering the dirty tricks often played by politicians to bury black cases.
Leading the Constitutional Court, Mahfud offers hope about improvements to the country’s justice system, in which it is widely perceived that money talks given that the system largely sides with those who possess power and money.
The next potential leader is Jokowi, who became popular because of his human touch in dealing with the street vendors who occupied the main roads and city parks of Surakarta.
He patiently negotiated with the street vendors so they agreed to relocate to new sites that he had prepared. He successfully won their cooperation after 56 meetings.
Besides providing new sites for the street vendors, Jokowi also advertised the new locations in the media for six months so that they would become known to both locals and tourists in Surakarta.
Eleven associations of street vendors, which between them account for almost 1,000 vendors, eventually accepted Jokowi’s offer despite having previously refused the same proposal put to them by Surakarta’s three prior regents.
During the relocation process, Jokowi also organized a number
of cultural events, including a festival and a parade by the Surakarta Royal Guards corps, which offered a sense of pride and nationalism to the traders.
In return, the mayor placed a small financial burden on the relocated street vendors, charging each of them only Rp 2,600 (28 US cents) per day for their new sites.
Jokowi’s bold move, however, was his decision to use the Esemka Rajawali, a sport utility vehicle (SUV) produced by students from Surakarta’s vocational high schools as his official car. His move has drawn controversy but the people side with him because he is setting an example of living a modest life; of taking the lead in the “love our national products” campaign and promoting this brilliant achievement by the nation’s children.
Meanwhile, Dahlan is popular because of his informal, modest and simple style in simplifying the complicated bureaucracy of state companies. His journalistic experience has helped transform the complex bureaucracy. He did not mind riding on ojek (motorcycle taxis) and trains to experience first-hand the public transportation services, as some public transportation providers come within his ministry’s remit.
The question is: What do these new potential leaders offer on the sociology of leadership and the trends and forces that might shape Indonesian politics in the future?
Mahfud has a background as a university lecturer and a student activist, Jokowi as a businessman and Dahlan as a journalist and businessman. Despite their different backgrounds, personalities and areas of concern, however, they share similar characteristics.
First, they have character and courage. A strong character, honed by years of getting in touch with the people, helps these new leaders to shape and transform the corrupt and immoral way of thinking and codes of conduct that have for years dominated our politics and bureaucracy.
Second, they are tolerant, inclusive and committed to pluralistic principles. Their popularity is a sign of Indonesian’s thirst for tolerant and fearless leaders to set
by example the ways of tolerance and pluralism.
Third, they share a strong commitment to humanity and moral values. They are willing to listen to people and treat them as human beings — not as a collection of two-dimensional figures.
Fourth, they live simple and modest lifestyles, in stark contrast to most members of the Indonesian elite who are occupied with material greed and conspicuous consumption that results in moral degradation. The tendency for greed and consumption has triggered rampant corruption in this country.
Surprisingly, none of the three has direct links with any political party and their rise to prominence, therefore, indicates that political parties have failed to nurture the rise of character and dignified leaders from within.
Politicians have been occupied with greed, consumerism and corruption, thus creating an assumption that political parties are the institutionalized means to serving greed, consumerism and corruption. Such conditions will desensitize young politicians and make them into something that is far removed from the reality of the people.
During the reformasi (reform) era, we had strong leaders such as Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Amien Rais, who were powerful against the mighty Soeharto because of their positions as leaders of mass organizations.
Mahfud, Jokowi and Dahlan do not have such mass support. But they have all the capacity to get such support. Their rise to prominence is a fundamental sign that the nation has changed. The nation’s people are bored with the political system, which is corrupt, violent and insensitive to its citizens. ●
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