'Instant Candidates' Pursuing Self-Interest
Malang. There is a tendency in this year's election that some of those vying for seats in the legislature are "instant candidates" who are only seeking popularity and personal wealth, a watchdog has warned.
The motivation of these candidates is only to seek wealth or to pursue their own interests, or for the interests of their group, said Hayik Ali Muntaha Mansyur, deputy coordinator of Malang Corruption Watch.
Hayik said the salary of a member of the Malang City Council was substantial, which also came with the power to issue permits for various projects — a lucrative path to success and fortune for the legislative candidates.
"The salary for a single city councilor, excluding allowances, reaches Rp 24 million [$2,100]. The salary for a member of the district legislature is much higher due to the larger regional budget. So don't vote for those who were involved in crime, corruption, collusion and nepotism or for legislative candidates who did not carry out their functions or programs when they served in the legislature," Hayik said.
An MCW survey among 250 people in Malang last October, on the performance of legislative members, showed that 76 percent of the respondents were not familiar with the profiles of the legislators.
Of those who knew the legislative members, 55 percent stated that they were not satisfied with their performance.
"Many of the voters made a blind choice. The suspicion is that they voted for those candidates because of money politics or due to getting certain promises. That's why most of them did not know the backgrounds of those they voted for. The legislators also never informed their constituents of what legislative projects they were working on. That is why the voters were not satisfied, or unaware of the bylaws they were working on," Hayik said.
He said most people did not monitor the performance of those they voted for because they did not understand the system.
Wahyudi Winaryo, a sociologist from Malang State University, said this year's legislative candidates, both with and without a political background, all had similar platforms.
"A political party is a forum for people with common ideals to achieve these ideals. But now all parties are the same. The legislative candidates can come from across party platforms, or instant candidates no longer have to undergo mentorship. What is most important now is their popularity," Wahyudi said.
He said there were many legislative candidates who only sold their popularity without preparing any vision and mission or work plans to carry out when they were elected.
Wahyudi also said legislative candidates who did not belong to a political party did not really understand the functions and the obligations of legislators.
"Legislators on any commission have three functions, budgeting, legislating and controlling. Voters can at least observe them based on their work programs when carrying out these three functions and the legislative candidates must have work programs for these three functions," he said.
Wahyudi said the quality of legislative candidates continued to decline as they opted to no longer adopt Pancasila — the state philosophy — in their actions, adding that legislative candidates prioritized their personal or group interests, and resorted to unethical campaigns to garner voters.
"They no longer adopt the values of Pancasila as their political umbrella. The legislative candidates make use of 'black' campaigns and religious issues, such as not allowing people to vote for leaders from a different religion, for instance. It contradicts the first pillar of Pancasila — a belief in the divinity of God — which gives everyone who believes in God an equal right to become a leader according to the law," he said.
Legislative candidates and parties that only fight for their own interests, are also in contradiction of Pancasila's third pillar, which involves a united Indonesia, he said.
The 30 percent quota for women in the legislature is a reflection of a patriarchal culture, which contradicts the fifth pillar, involving social justice for all Indonesians.
"Women only gained a chance after the 30 percent quota was enforced," Wahyudi said.
He said political education should start from the parties and the public in order to end the political transaction mindset.
"Mentorship cannot be done instantly. Political parties must refer to Pancasila and qualified legislative candidates should accommodate the voices of marginalized people," he said.
Making changes
Meanwhile, Sutio Utomo, a 50-year-old welder who is vying for one of the 50 seats in the Malang district legislature, denied the assumption that most candidates were in the running only for the money.
Sutio, who charges between Rp 20,000 and Rp 50,000 for his services as a welder, said it was his intention to change the way people thought about politics.
"I want to change the mind-set of the people so that they can progress. I never sell any promises or intimidate anyone. I haven't prepared any program yet because I don't know in which commission I will serve," Sutio said.
He said he supported his wife and three children and funded his campaign from the income he generated as a welder.
"I use the income from welding for the campaign, it's not much, but it's enough to buy cigarettes and fuel," said Sutio, who on that day earned Rp 50,000 for fixing two spray tanks.
He said he visited people at their homes every afternoon in an effort to convince them to vote for him.
Sutio, who was a teacher from 1985 to 2009, said with at least 10,000 votes and the support of his former students and their parents, he was likely win a seat in the legislature.
"I was also active with NU's [Nadhlatul Ulama] wing. I ran in the 2009 legislative election representing the PKNU [Ulema National Awakening Party] and I garnered 2,500 votes. Now, it seems that 10,000 would be enough," he said.
Ahmad Rofiq, 27, who owns 20 parking spots in Malang's Dampit ward, set aside Rp 90 million, which he had been saving over the past two years to run in this year's election.
"I want to organize parking and create big parking lots, especially in the markets to prevent traffic congestion and to provide job opportunities," he said.
Ahmad, who graduated from Malang State University, said he hired 25 people as parking attendants at each of his parking spots.
He said he was also active within the local youth group and local sports group in his neighborhood.
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