Pollster Says Political Dynasty Divided into Two: Predatory and Benevolent

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The executive director of Indonesian pollster Indikator Politik, Burhanuddin Muhtadi, said historically political dynasty can be divided into two types: the predatory and the benevolent political dynasties. 

“Historically and in literature, I may say there are the predatory dynasty and the benevolent dynasty,” said Burhanuddin in Tempo’s virtual discussion ‘Ngobrol@Tempo’ on Thursday, July 20. 

He explained that the former dynasty refers to what the Philippines have experienced. Burhanuddin referred to the Dante Simbulan research which reveals there are 169 families in the Philippines that are conquering multilevel leadership positions. 

According to the same study published in 2007, the political elites in the Philipines from 1946-1963 that consist of seven presidents, two VPs, 42 senators, and 147 legislators all come from the 169 families. 

“The negative effect comes from the dominant control of assets as they further influence the process of political decision-making,” said the Indikator Politik executive director. 

In contrast, Burhanuddin said there are political dynasties that are less inclement such as those in the United States with the Clintons and Bush, and in India with Gandhi. 

“Indonesia is more comparable to the Philippines. We are not fully aware of the politician’s background before they entered the political realm,” said Burhanuddin. 

He also mentioned the political kinship among Indonesian politicians is also traced back to political parties. 

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