This year’s general election in Indonesia should be the best way (unfortunately, it is not!!!) to celebrate our choice to embrace democracy. I do enjoy the colorful debates of those so-called think-tankers of the candidates, both for legislators and president’s elections, mind you, its drama is much more breathtaking than any soap opera I have ever watched!
Almost every morning I have a laughter when reading the morning paper with updates of those “political actors”. There are some kutuloncat bin kutukupret or the ultra-chameleon legislators whose parties have always changed to the “money side” without any guilty look in their faces. Other candidates, mostly the first time runners, would be the sitting ducks for the so-called Political Consultants, for charging them big with easy money for some political mambo jumbo, and yeah, mostly ridiculous advise. That’s for sure! A friend of mine showed me a silly picture of a legislator wannabe in Bekasi, West Java, built a billboard with “peace” as its title, where he was sitting pretty next to a picture of Obama and Osama in one frame…heh heh heeeh.
This show got worse when the General Election Commission (KPU) did a very poor performance this year. Unlike the more successful general election in 2004, reportedly this year millions of voters lost their rights for some administrative problems, their names were not registered on the KPU’s list. To make it worsen, KPU even registered the imaginary names, those who were not even existed in this world, including the deaths, as the legal voters. Of course we do believe mostly that it was all made on purpose, likely completed by the Interior Ministry, in order to seal the 20% vote for the incumbent’s Democratic Party, the exact number needed for a party to be able sending its nomination the lead the country.
So, here we are, with three nominees for the upcoming President Elections in July, Pak General Beye the incumbent, Pak Kalla the vice president, and Mbak Mega the opposition leader. To make it fun, there are two more top brasses joined the ride, General Wiranto for Pak Kalla VP, and General Prabowo for Mbak Mega VP. While General Beye put Bank Indonesia’s governor Budiono as his VP. And the drama goes on. We can see Pak Kalla who sells “faster is always better” motto, always one step ahead of his own president. Pak Kalla, a leading businessman from Celebes, is also known as the real president during these last 5 years because of his quick responds in solving the nation’s problem (somehow he is not that fast dealing with Lapindo’s disaster).
And without worry, the American Darling Pak Beye (Bill Clinton praised him openly on one interview with Greta Van Susteren of FOXNews) showed his Obama-wannabe declaration in Bandung. The posh event started exactly similar the way Obama on train to Delaware to pick up VP Biden. Interesting eh? I was just curious, I thought Rizal Malarangeng of Fox Indonesia who was known behind this glamour declaration, should know that train is Joe Biden’s real daily transportation during his days as senator, right? It was not a “drama” when Obama picked the train to Delaware, Rizal! … So, I found it really funny.
But the funniest would go to Mbak Mega declaration in Bantar Gebang. This place is the country’s biggest dumpsite, a place where most people would avoid getting near, and she went there. My oh my…, I was just speechless!
Oh Homer, don’t you just love election days? What? You asked me, which party I did vote? Unfortunately I still am with my non-voters group peacefully. Sorry Homer, I simply don’t buy those dreams easily… 
