Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Achilles’ Heel of Political Dynasty

 The recent arrest of Tubagus Chaeri Wardhana, the younger brother of Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, along with disgraced Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar on allegations of widespread election rigging, has fueled a heated debate on political dynasty. The arrest has exposed how Atut’s family ferociously takes reign over Banten, politically and economically. 
At least five regencies and municipalities in the province come under the family’s control. Her husband, her brother, her sister-in-law, her daughter-in-law, her stepsister, her stepbrother, and her eldest son respectively hold key political posts in the province.
I have to shake my head in utter amazement on how the family succeeds to wrap up their long nasty creepy tentacles on the region. Further, a sensational rumor has it that a gang of jawara and black magic protects the family.
Whoosh, I could feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck!
Totally creepy! If I lived in the province, I should be extra careful not to mess around with the family.
My relatives who have been living in Serang confirmed that Jawara figure plays a key role in Banten, occupying an influent position and acting as an intermediary between Bantenese people and the political institutions. The jawara is not only a person who has traditional martial arts skills and granted powers by local shamans, but also deals with main business and political activities.
It’s not surprising at all that that Ratu Atut is the daughter of the revered jawara in Banten, H. Chasan Sochib, who played key role in the raising of the Djoko Munandar-Ratu Atut to lead Banten in 2002.
Atut’s rise to power marked the onset of the Chasan’s family increasingly dominated local politics in Banten. His power has enabled him to build massive political networks and strong financial muscle to support a run for political office, appointing many members of his family into strategic political positions, both at legislative and executive levels.
Guess what? That’s when the small octopus becomes a giant octopus having massive tentacles to get hold of power and wealth in Banten.

It’s a common knowledge that the business of being in politics is just a lucrative as a person who, from one generation to another, inherits and succeeds the profitable business conglomerate belonging to his forebears.

This is the essence of political dynasties – treating your political bailiwicks as your family business domain and passing the leadership and authority over these places in a sequential order from one generation to another.

The more the concentration of wealth, power and influence is in the family, the higher the chances of political dynasties to stay longer and get perpetuated.
Now, the family is under heavy public scrutiny. Their accumulated wealth is now on the grill. The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and the government’s Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) have released separate reports alleging severe budget misuse by Atut’s Banten government.

As investigators continue to unearth bad deeds and the unraveling of ill-gotten wealth or traditionally powerful liaisons, her administration has been allegedly fired to have committed embezzlement schemes, including the creation of more than a dozen fake or illegitimate organizations and billions stolen in marked-up public projects.
Gee, it shouldn’t have surprised me that history always repeats itself.
When Soeharto was dethroned by people’s power, one by one his faults were vulgarly exposed and put on display including rumors on black magic and shaman.
Yet, to our dismay, instead of learning from the past, these little kings and queens patronized the deposed President.
Don’t they should know better that if they live in a flashy luxurious life while most citizens live a hand to mouth, there must be something wrong in the system? That voices of the masses will eventually bring them down.

For that reason, the ferocity of some of the reactions this week had me thinking that they are justified. Something in the water is totally making us extra jumpy. These among many other such stories reinforce the idea that political dynasties are the Achilles heel to the basic right of citizens to decide whoever they entrust with the business of running their government.

Are political dynasties good or bad?

Well, in my personal point of view, political dynasties are not bad or good per se.

They can be good to the extent that they are serving the will and interests of the people. After all, many political dynasties are cast in positive light such as the Kennedys, Bushes, and Clintons in the USA; and Gandhi in India.

They can also be bad if they turn democracy into a fascist state believing and acting as if they are the sole authority always above the law without moral limits, feeling so superior all in the pursuit of power. I think the Filipinos and Syrians have had enough of these.

Unfortunately, most of our political dynasties have become corruptive and collusive along the way, filling their empires filled with treasures of the country’s wealth and most precious resources. Power and control make a man drunk: callous coarseness and depravity develop in him; believing they are ‘gods’.

Thus, each political dynasty should be viewed through its own unique lenses for its merits and demerits. It is is a very complicated issue. It’s very much similar to the antitrust proposal that seeks to regulate monopoly and/or unfair competition in the business sector when it’s very much clear that the source of monopoly and unfair competition is the government itself and its protectionist policies and regulations.


In keeping up with political dynasties, we must take heed of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words as he said, "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to the point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism; ownership of government by an individual, by a group or any controlling private power."

Sunday, October 6, 2013

The Constitutional Court on the Brink


http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/10/08/your-letters-the-constitutional-court-brink.html

I was shocked and appalled at recent arrest of the Constitutional Court’s chief justice on suspicion of taking bribes worth more than $250,000 to fix a case hearing. The further findings of marijuana and ecstasy pills at his office sickened my stomach again. The last bastion of justice, which has enjoyed rare high public trust almost as good as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is now on the brink of free fall if not immediately saved.

It seems the nature of change, once the tempo picks up, is that one drama follows another until several can be happening at the same time. Unfortunately, instead of slowing down, allowing us some respite; the saga continues with more climaxes and pinnacles to drain our energy, leaving us all exhausted and worn out.

Oh yes, the saga of corruption seems increasingly occupy our screens! It’s like watching a bad sinetron one over another on daily basis. Endless and frustrating!

The scandalous arrest makes it the second time in three months that the KPK has pursued the top official within the supposedly clean and prestigious institutions, after nailing down the chairman of the upstream petroleum regulator SKK Migas.

Well done KPK!

This nation without a doubt needs KPK to keep hammering down these corruptive rats that set our nation into limbo.

Yet along the successful arrest, one fundamental question remains unanswered. Is there still any trustworthy judiciary institution we can look up to with trust and integrity aside from KPK?

The Constitutional Court is the last place Indonesians can go to for legal redress involving all manner of issues. Under Mahfud MD, the court has received high respect for its integrity and independence, recorded many achievements settling various legal controversies from election disputes, questionable laws, to the rights of children born out of wedlock. 

Alas! The recent expose of criminal activity in this prestigious judiciary body has cast a dark cloud to the rest of the society. In line with the “broken window theory”, dishonest judge can induce honest judge and citizen to try to become even more corrupt. This may start a downward spiral of ever-increasing lawlessness if the actions to eradicate misconducts in the judicial system not taken immediately.

We still remember the disgrace Chief Justice once said confidently that those accused of corruption should have their assets seized and their fingers cut off. Asked by journalist of this statement, without any second thought he slapped the him hard on the face. A vulgar display of his immature and emotional character

The funny thing is how on the first place, he was ever elected as the Chief Justice by our lawmakers in the House over public outcries that he once implicated in a graft case in 2011. We “the people” elect individuals we somehow believe will be honest and have a bit of integrity.  
Oh, what fools we are!

Corrupt politicians, lawmakers, law enforcers, state officials steal from us and flash Cheshire cat smiles right in front of our face. One after another is being dragged and arrested with corrupt practices.  Bribery is so deep rooted so chronic most people take it as a normal business expense. Corruption has become an integral part of the system.

A belief that they will not be caught and that even if caught, punishment will be light keeps tempting them to follow their colleagues’ shoes. Either they are fools or too greedy for power and money.

This is an outrage. These greedy, money-hungry thieves should be punished severely for their crimes because they have destroyed the public trust. The penalty should provide a deterrent effect.

Well…. Capital punishmennt is out of question so perhaps the idea of the disgrace Chief Justice of seizing all the assets and cutting off the fingers is NOT a bad idea.

The harm has be done though. It makes us realize that judiciary corruption is far deeper and more extensive.

For that reason, the public trust on the judiciary bodies needs to be restored immediately. Rigged courts, bribed judges, phony trials, extortion by lawmakers should be eradicated, burnt down up to its roots. Those who are guilty should receive the highest sanction possible.

Related institutions should help to establish a clean judicial system to deter corrupt practices as corrupt judiciary encourages even greater corruption. Corruption normally thrives in societies where ethical and moral standards are weak and where punishment is lenient.

The law should stop the judiciary bodies from destroying their selves with greed and stupidity. Judicial reforms should be immediately imposed regarding judge gratuities and the code of ethics, performance standards for judges, or judge accountability, and legislative oversight of judges.

And we, the people, should keep standing strong and tall with KPK with its endless task to combat corruption. It’s the one standing institution so far with trust and integrity.


May God speed and save our nation from limbo.