Democracy Is Not Healthy as Long as the Poor and Low Education

JAKARTA - Social observer Musni Umar assessed that democracy in Indonesia has not been ideal. He highlighted the still high poverty rate and the low level of education of the community which was considered to make the practice of money politics continue to recur in every election, including direct elections.

The debate on the design of the regional election is also considered insufficient if it is not accompanied by improvements in education, poverty alleviation, and internal reforms of political parties.

"If we look at our society, democracy is not compatible for our people. How can it be compatible? Our people's education is already, we are approaching 80 years, it is only 9 years of school. So it means only up to SMP, and the most education is elementary. How can we run democracy if the people's education is low? That's what's happening in our education. So more than 50 percent, 56 percent of education is only up to SMP," said Musni in a discussion in Central Jakarta, Friday, February 13.

According to him, low education makes people more easily trapped in transactional political practices. The difficult economic conditions also exacerbate the situation.

"Especially the poor. If the poor, it is impossible to want his income to be more, because that is the means to get money. Well, how do we solve the number of very poor people? This is something that must be overcome by the government. If we want to implement this democracy, the people must be educated," he said.

Musni emphasized that the debate about direct or through the DPRD will not touch the root of the problem if the social and economic conditions of the community are not improved.

"So if we want to improve our democracy, whether directly or indirectly, it will never be finished if the people are still like now," he said.

In the same discussion, Citra Institute Political Observer, Yusak Farchan, assessed the high cost of the election was also related to the design of local government. He highlighted the position of the governor as a representative of the central government.

"This governor is indeed a representative of the central government. The name of the representative of the central government, it should be linear, it should be one line. It is not allowed for the president to go right, the governor to the left," said Yusak.

According to him, the alignment of policies between the center and the regions is important so that government programs run effectively. However, the current political design is considered to have an impact on the high cost of the contest.

Meanwhile, the Director of Indonesia Political Review (IPR) Iwan Setiawan assessed that the discussion of the election through the DPRD needed to be carefully studied. The mechanism is considered to have the potential to increase the dominance of the party in determining the regional head.

He reminded, even in direct elections, the practice of money politics is still rampant. Political costs are said to be large since the pre-qualification stage, even in some areas the price of one vote can be very expensive.

According to Iwan, the fundamental problem is actually in the process of kaderisasi and political recruitment within the party.

"Because the party recommends candidates not based on competence or dedication, but based on financial capacity. On average, many regional heads candidates rely on investors. And it must be paid when they become regional heads," explained Iwan.