I was having a chitchat with a guy, which is also my boyfriend, about Golput
(Indonesian term for non-voters) phenomenon in election. He also write a
note in his Facebook page about this. And yeah, actually I rewrite it
from my point of view.
According to Kompas daily, 29.1 percent of the voting-age population or 49.7 million people did not vote in the 2009 Legislative Election. This makes them the “winner” of that election, surpassing the Democratic Party that had the highest votes at 21.7 million. In over 10 years, the number of voters has continued to slide, from 92.7 percent in 1999, to 84 percent in 2004, to 70 percent in 2009.
So this was a strong political statement to be golput in the three decades of President Soeharto regime, when election was just a perfunctory affair to legitimate his supremacy.
But, is it still relevant in this democratized era, when we can freely choose our representative in government?
In my personal opinion, this non-voters in after reformation era were a tantamount to being lazy, misguided, and unpatriotic at worst. To me, they couldn’t complain about the government’s ineffectiveness or corruption in parliament, simply because they didn’t have stake.
Ironically, a lot of these non-voters are educated and informed group of people. A few possible reasons may explain their choice: disappointment over parliament’s performance, rampant corruption cases involving legislators, the sentiment that they have no stake in the legislature, and the fact that they have no idea who to vote for.
I’m pretty sure that you who read this are an educated and well-informed people. You want a trustworthy and capable person to sit in legislature. So here are some reasons why you should vote:
1. If you think parliament has nothing to do with ordinary people like you and me so there’s no need to vote next Wednesday, think again. The taxes you pay (or your parents do), go to their bank accounts, and that’s not a small amount. A legislator can take about Rp 50 million per months as his salary, and also all of that luxury things like overseas travel, house, staffs, etc. So, you are their paymaster. Make sure you pay people who will work hard once they occupy those cushy seats.
2. Maybe you’re wary that once elected they will be as corrupt as their predecessors. Just so you know, the parliament had been in cahoot with the current government to introduce changes to Indonesia’s penal code that might undermine the power of the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK). If passed, this legal initiative may make it harder for KPK to investigate and prosecute corruption cases. Choose a candidate who is committed to the fight against corruption, not putting a brake on it.
3. Parliament does other things besides making laws. It decides on state budget along with the government, monitors the executive branch, and helps vet people who will occupy strategic leadership positions such as the Military Commander, the National Police Chief and the Supreme Court judges. These are important decisions that should not be made by incompetent and greedy people.
4. Still, you just don’t care much about the legislative election, and only want to vote in the presidential election. Not so fast. The Indonesian law requires that a political party must win 25 percent of the votes or 20 seats in parliament in order to be able to nominate a presidential candidate, or they will have to form a coalition with other parties. If you really want your candidate to run in the presidential election, then you have no choice but to vote for his/her party.
5. All of those seems reasonable, but you really don’ know whom to vote for? First, check the General Elections Committee (KPU) website, which provides the information of candidates in your electorate, and then go to any one of these sources Bersih2014, jariungu, checkyourcandidates and wikikandidat to find out more, or read some trusted publications like Tempo magazine, which recently profiled some candidates they deem capable and with integrity.
Well, if you have time to read this, then you can spare a few more minutes to use the vast resource that is the Internet to find your legislators of choice :p
Then you can, at least, filter who candidates are right or not from their clean records.
Oh. For you who still care but there is no way out to vote in your hometown, check this out:
According to Kompas daily, 29.1 percent of the voting-age population or 49.7 million people did not vote in the 2009 Legislative Election. This makes them the “winner” of that election, surpassing the Democratic Party that had the highest votes at 21.7 million. In over 10 years, the number of voters has continued to slide, from 92.7 percent in 1999, to 84 percent in 2004, to 70 percent in 2009.
So this was a strong political statement to be golput in the three decades of President Soeharto regime, when election was just a perfunctory affair to legitimate his supremacy.
But, is it still relevant in this democratized era, when we can freely choose our representative in government?
In my personal opinion, this non-voters in after reformation era were a tantamount to being lazy, misguided, and unpatriotic at worst. To me, they couldn’t complain about the government’s ineffectiveness or corruption in parliament, simply because they didn’t have stake.
Ironically, a lot of these non-voters are educated and informed group of people. A few possible reasons may explain their choice: disappointment over parliament’s performance, rampant corruption cases involving legislators, the sentiment that they have no stake in the legislature, and the fact that they have no idea who to vote for.
I’m pretty sure that you who read this are an educated and well-informed people. You want a trustworthy and capable person to sit in legislature. So here are some reasons why you should vote:
1. If you think parliament has nothing to do with ordinary people like you and me so there’s no need to vote next Wednesday, think again. The taxes you pay (or your parents do), go to their bank accounts, and that’s not a small amount. A legislator can take about Rp 50 million per months as his salary, and also all of that luxury things like overseas travel, house, staffs, etc. So, you are their paymaster. Make sure you pay people who will work hard once they occupy those cushy seats.
2. Maybe you’re wary that once elected they will be as corrupt as their predecessors. Just so you know, the parliament had been in cahoot with the current government to introduce changes to Indonesia’s penal code that might undermine the power of the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK). If passed, this legal initiative may make it harder for KPK to investigate and prosecute corruption cases. Choose a candidate who is committed to the fight against corruption, not putting a brake on it.
3. Parliament does other things besides making laws. It decides on state budget along with the government, monitors the executive branch, and helps vet people who will occupy strategic leadership positions such as the Military Commander, the National Police Chief and the Supreme Court judges. These are important decisions that should not be made by incompetent and greedy people.
4. Still, you just don’t care much about the legislative election, and only want to vote in the presidential election. Not so fast. The Indonesian law requires that a political party must win 25 percent of the votes or 20 seats in parliament in order to be able to nominate a presidential candidate, or they will have to form a coalition with other parties. If you really want your candidate to run in the presidential election, then you have no choice but to vote for his/her party.
5. All of those seems reasonable, but you really don’ know whom to vote for? First, check the General Elections Committee (KPU) website, which provides the information of candidates in your electorate, and then go to any one of these sources Bersih2014, jariungu, checkyourcandidates and wikikandidat to find out more, or read some trusted publications like Tempo magazine, which recently profiled some candidates they deem capable and with integrity.
Well, if you have time to read this, then you can spare a few more minutes to use the vast resource that is the Internet to find your legislators of choice :p
Then you can, at least, filter who candidates are right or not from their clean records.
Oh. For you who still care but there is no way out to vote in your hometown, check this out:
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