Bad "Recruitment" Practice

Recent months are the time for registered parties to “recruit” candidates for legislative election 2009 (DPR/house of representatives). Why I use the word recruit? It is just very strange that candidates are not “native” members of the party or somebody that has “career” in the party. One of my neighbors has just been recruited by party #1. He will represent West Java. He is actually labor activist therefore he has vast networks of labor unions in West Java. Usually, labor activist would represent labor party (is there any Labor Party in Indonesia?) but in his case he is not.

Second person that I know is my sister in Law. Her husband is an activist in one of the big parties in Indonesia. He has career in that party and he has he political knowledge and skill. He represents his party in South Sumatera, where he was born. I believe this recruitment system. Somebody from inside the party that has skill, knowledge, and maybe consciousness should represent the party in the election. However, in the case of my sister in law, her recruitment is becoming very strange recruitment process. Due to his activist husband, one party (other than the party of her husband’s) offered her a candidacy spot for regency level election. She is an architect, so far does not have any experience with politics (except politics in the work), and I believe does not have the skill for political job. On the way to work, I saw a banner saying that this party is opening for registration for candidates of 2009 election. What a funny idea of recruitment, especially for such important position.

There are things that I can learn from those two different cases:

• Parties just want to recruit somebody that potentially can collect many votes despite his/her background and maybe his/her consciousness
• Parties do not do internal candidate development (maybe the established parties do it)
• Parties want it instant. As long as they won the voters’ heart, they do not care who is on the podium and do the oration
• Parties do not care with the background of the candidates (either he/she has the knowledge, the skill, objective and maybe some consciousness about good things for the people)
• Parties do not develop their supporters/voters from the grass root (or maybe they do not have the capacity to do that)
• Democracy in Indonesia is still in the premature stage (education is needed).

I am afraid that 2009 election result will just be the same as the results of past years. Corrupt parliament, incompetent people’s representatives, power hungry people’s representatives and bunch of people that only cares for his/her own business and do not have the vision and strategy for development and progress.

However, despite of all those things, I will vote. I will choose well. One vote does matters. One vote can change the whole thing. The crucial thing is that one has to know very well to whom his/her vote should go. Let’s welcome 2009 election with hopes and excitement.