Coming to an election near you

The general election is scheduled for 2009 but understandably some parties have begun to buy advertisements. It is these advertisements which have attracted attention to a candidate called Rizal Mallarangeng.

Discussions at wedding parties and dinner table often mention the Rizal phenomenon. It is not widely known how he has been funding one full page full colour ad in the country's largest dailies. Recently however it is noticed that a private tv station displayed its logo in a billboard of Rizal's.

What is also not clear is Dr. Mallarangeng's objectives. He has not come out and say what his plans are, whether it involves running as an independent or jumping into bed with some of the 38 political parties which will be contesting next year's election.

Therefore people like your correspondent is at a loss in understanding his motives. Some people believe that Dr. Malarangeng is a proxy of elements of the Golongan Karya (GOLKAR) political party who wanted to disrupt the progress Mr. Soetrisno Bachir, a one-time client of Dr. Mallarangeng (he created Mr. Bachir's ads and bought airtime to play them. In fact there are large similarities between the themes of Dr. Mallarangeng's ads and Mr. Bachir's).

All this is purely speculation. However indeed the private tv station associating itself with Dr. Mallarangeng is owned by the head of GOLKAR's supervisory board. That , your correspondent believes, started the speculation about GOLKAR aligning itself with Dr. Mallarangeng.

What does all this mean for the voters? Against this background, one must also consider the recent barrage of stories alleging how MPs have been taking facilitation payments. Your correspondent believes all this builds a picture which is not rosy for the political establishment. In essence these stories highlight that all MPs are created equal; ie no matter what parties they belong to, they all took the money when offered.

Arguably this reduces voters' trust in the parties. It can either lead to support for "independent" with no visible political associations , like Dr. Mallarangeng. Or, the second possibility is that the as voters distrust the parties, they decide to boycott the election and not vote at all.

If the second possibility were to be realized, it will be a pity for Indonesian democracy. The right to vote is a precious right and should not be waved on a whim. Granted 'not voting' is also a vote but it should be taken as a last resort.