TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - There is no reason for the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to thwart the inauguration of President-elect Joko Widodo and his deputy Jusuf Kalla on October 20. The assurances of newly appointed MPR Speaker Zulkifli Hasan that there will be no obstruction during that eventful day, must be regarded as an oath to the public by a leader of the nation's highest institution, and he should be held accountable if he reneges on his promise. In accordance with the Constitution, the president-elect must be sworn-in to office by the Supreme Court chief justice in the presence of MPR members.
The public's concern that the presidential inauguration will not take place, must be seen as a desire to be certain that the post-July 9 election process continues smoothly, safely and peacefully. Jokowi and JK won the elections fair and square, in line with the Constitution. Their victory was further reinforced by the Constitutional Court, following an appeal for a review by losing contender Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Hatta Rajasa. The Court's verdict confirming the Jokowi-JK victory is final and binding. In other words, this decision cannot altered by anyone through whatever means.
But, no matter how insignificant the rumors may be about Jokowi-JK's possible foiled inauguration, they cannot be ignored. By dominating the MPR, the pro-Prabowo coalition can easily create havoc by refusing to attend the event, thus preventing a quorum. The MPR rules of conduct state that if the presidential swearing-in ceremony cannot be held at the MPR, it can be held at a plenary session of the House of Representatives (DPR). If even that is not likely, it would be enough for the ceremony to be witnessed only by the MPR leaders. But again, the reality is that the DPR and the MPR are controlled by members of the Prabowo coalition. The statement of Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Prabowo's brother and concurrently the deputy chairman of the Gerindra Party executive board, that "Jokowi must pay a price [for competing against Prabowo in the presidential election]" only thickens the suspected plot.
To be sure, there is nothing constitutionally wrong with controlling both the DPR and the MPR. The political events in the past three weeks clearly demonstrated the 'cunning' of the Prabowo coalition in playing politics in parliament. Controlling only 37 percent of the seats in the DPR, the pro-Jokowi coalition comprising the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), National Democrats (NasDem), the National Awakening (PKB) and Hanura parties has truly been hit by the bigger and stronger opposition coalition. In fact, during the process of electing the MPR speaker, PDI-P failed to take advantage of the chaos among the political parties in the DPR.
It is unfortunate that because they won big in the legislature, the pro-Prabowo coalition is using its power to carry out its 'scorched earth' politics. The recent enactment of the Local Elections Law shows the true intention of that coalition, which is to foil the democratization process, including its alleged intention to amend the Constitution so as to return the presidential elections back to the MPR. Direct elections are the mandate of the 1998 reforms, a political process that was achieved with considerable pain and sacrifice.
As long as the people's show of force by pro-Jokowi volunteers on October 20 is held in an orderly way, we have nothing to worry about. People sense that their aspirations have not been fulfilled, so they decide to go back to the street. This mass action should be seen as a criticism of the legislators who claim to represent the people. But it is excessive to regard this mass action as a paranoid reaction to Jokowi's defeat in the legislature.
All parties must ensure the success of the inauguration. The masses must control themselves and not allow things to get out of hand. The pro-Prabowo coalition must get rid of any vengeful thoughts by thwarting the inauguration. Meanwhile the TNI or Indonesian military must have no hopes of gaining power the worst possible option if the presidential swearing-in on October 20 fails to take place.
The responsibility of ensuring that all goes well falls on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. As head of state and government, he must guarantee that his administration will function effectively and in an orderly way until October 20, his last day in power. Until the time when Jokowi is sworn in, the TNI and the police are under the control of Yudhoyono. His own Democrat Party happens to be one of the supporters of the pro-Prabowo coalition. In other words, Yudhoyono has many cards to play. It would not make sense for him to stand back and pretend not to know what's going on, or to play the victim.
For Jokowi, these political obstructions prior to taking over the presidency should be seen as microcosms of much bigger political issues ahead of him. However, he should not look at the DPR's criticism as an attempt to torpedo and paralyze his government. Without such criticism, he will lose the benefit of reflection.
But he must make a stand against the scorched-earth politics. He can build strong defenses by setting up a cabinet that is clean and professional. As pundits maintain, the most effective way of fending off political enemies is through hard work, work and more work. (*)
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