Menang dan Kalah dalam Politik [Winning and Losing in Politics]

Abstract

An opinion article by Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, former Indonesian Ambassador to the United States and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, in the daily Kompas, with an illustration by Jitet. He opens with a recollection of the last meeting between President Bill Clinton and President Abdurrahman Wahid at the White House, when Clinton expressed the hope that Indonesia would prove that Islam and democracy are compatible, followed by his own experience preparing the 2004 General Election in the Kabinet Gotong Royong (Mutual Cooperation Cabinet) together with Boediono and Burhanuddin Abdullah. The author then offers some thoughts to the winners and the losers after the 2014 General Election: politics is the art of compromise, as exemplified by the nation's founders; short-term interests and horse-trading politics (politik dagang sapi) easily weaken coalitions; victory is no guarantee for the next election; and a "winner takes all" attitude does not fit the culture of musyawarah-mufakat (deliberation and consensus) and gotong royong (mutual cooperation). He reminds readers that every power has an ultimate source and expresses the hope that the millennial generation will learn from the history of the NKRI (the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia).