Bali Tourism News

Bali warned against voting ‘puppet’ gov

April 11th, 2008

Wayan Ananta Wijaya, Contributor, Denpasar

Scores of Balinese intellectuals have warned the Balinese people not to elect a “puppet” governor — a weak leader who is submissive to the central government’s and investors’ interests — in the upcoming gubernatorial election.

The need to have a strong leader, capable of saying “no” to the central government in Jakarta, was the central theme of a recent public discussion involving local intellectuals, such as AA Arwata, Dewa Suprapta and LK Suryani.

Co-organized by the Bali chapter of the Indonesia National Student Movement (GMNI) and its alumni’s body, the discussion was held to commemorate the 54th anniversary of GMNI.

“The Balinese should try their best to be smart, thoughtful voters. They shouldn’t vote for a candidate who will be the willing “puppet” of the central government in Jakarta,” I Gusti Putu Artha said.

Artha is currently a member of the country’s General Election Commission (KPU) and a former member of GMNI.

AA Ngr Arwata, former head of the influential Bali administration’s Regional Development Planning Agency and one of the most island’s most critical thinkers, stated that the high level of outside influence — Jakarta-based politicians and corporate investors — would make the upcoming election more decisive than the previous ones in determining the future of Bali.

He hinted that several investors and political figures from Jakarta had enthusiastically offered their support and financial power to the potential gubernatorial candidates. This development, Arwata said, was worrisome.

“Because there is no such thing as a free lunch, particularly in politics. We should be aware, well, the candidates should be aware of the ulterior motives of these ‘political’ investors,” he said.

The anxiety over the involvement of these Jakarta-based “political” investors, Arwata said, was primarily based on the Balinese people’s own experience concerning the ways their leaders had always easily — sometimes gladly — succumbed to the central government and major corporations’ wishes in the past.

“All these years, our political leaders had never dared to stand up to Jakarta, nor had they enough political leverage to say ‘no’ to Jakarta’s wishes and the corporations’ interests,” he said.

His words reminded the participants of the times when the island was governed by Ida Bagus Oka from 1988 to 1998. During his ten-year tenure, Oka had always bowed down to the central government’s and Jakarta-based conglomerates’ requests, a trait that earned him the nickname “Mr. Okey” among Bali’s rights and environmental activists.

The island paid for its governor’s weakness dearly. Jakarta-sponsored tourism mega projects, such as the ones on Serangan Island and Pecatu, have inflicted irreversible changes to the island’s landscape, both socially and environmentally.

“Now, if Jakarta’s political figures and major corporations offer the candidates their political networks and financial support … we can safely assume that the future leaders of Bali will be much weaker than the previous ones, because they will be heavily indebted to their investors,” he said.

LK Suryani, a Udayana University professor and arguably the most influential female thinker on contemporary Bali, urged the Balinese people to vote for a leader who had the guts to be antagonistic to the hegemonic power of Jakarta.

“If necessary, we shouldn’t refrain ourselves from electing a controversial figure as long as that figure has the morals and political integrity to place the Balinese people’s interests far above the Jakarta’s interests,” she said.

The head of GMNI’s alumni association, I Dewa Kade Wiarsa Raka Sandi, said the participants’ concerns over the future governor were justified.

“We will use all the political influence this organization possesses to shape the upcoming election into a political process that will bestow the Balinese with a strong and visionary governor, and not a ‘puppet’, ” he said.

The Bali gubernatorial election is scheduled for July 7. So far, the official candidates include Made Mangku Pastika, a three-star police general nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), and Cokorda Budi Suryawan, a former two-time regent of Gianyar endorsed by the Golkar Party. Both have extensive political and financial networks in Jakarta.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Entry Filed under: Bali Tourism News