Yang Ketujuh

If you have been around me this past month, you would know how excessively unease I have been. Every conversation would lead to the fact that Indonesia is doing its election and me telling that it involves a battle of The Good and The Evil. Prior writings involving this had been around in this blog, somewhere.

The verdict has been made, albeit still not yet conclusive due to the fact that the losing candidate had stated that he withdraw from the process due to the numerous flaw, fraud, and criminal acts made to create favour to his competitors. As per I write this, he only has 24 hours left to plea his case to the Constitutional Court.

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Despite all these remaining issues, I came to the realisation how I had been very fortunate to watch Indonesia grows politically to where it is today. The election this year was the third direct presidential election, also my third election. Ever since I was eligible to vote, I have been voting for my presidents – which made at this point, I do admit there’s a romanticism in how I see this whole presidential election process. I have never voted under the New Order nor when post-reformation we could have a multi-party system yet could only vote for the people who sat in the representative to vote for our presidents.

Funny enough, this year’s event asked me to revisit the first-time-voters me, a decade ago. The seventeen years old me had just arrived for a day after a whole year in an exchange program in U.S. when the legislative election took place; and watched – without paying too much attention – the excitement of the first direct presidential election. I was seventeen, so I was simply excited to be able to vote. I showed off my purple pinkie, believing my decisions had made a difference to the country’s future.

To a certain extent, it might have had. But I could not care too much. Politics were clearly not my thing, and I was happy enough to know that my candidate won.

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Fast forward to 2008. I had been working as an interpreter for a couple of years and found myself helping to a series of meetings and discussions between the Indonesian election preparation with international helps. During the days in middle of 2008, you would find me delivering the thoughts of the team of UNDP to the local governments, from the central to the local level. What made the effort that year was especially prominent was because it was the last election that UNDP could support. They were only allowed to assist in two direct presidential election. It was already their second, yet the issues remained to the: socialisation to encourage voters to use their rights, voting method promotion for first time voters. The only more advance issues was the idea of further political involvement, including public supervisions for the process and reporting mechanisms for any disruption in the process. The civil servants who were involved in the field had different level of understanding in different part of Indonesia, making a systemic training essentials to help them protect themselves and the process from possible intervention.

I remember feeling frustrated knowing in some areas officers were appointed for the responsibilities in less than a year before the election. They were left to figure things out for themselves.

I remember from that year was an escalation of international witnesses in vote stations to supervise the process; I remember the conflicted opinion that also took part after the result was officially announced. (Much as it is today, the result led to a dispute.)

So, what would have happened in 2014, when we had no one else to turn to but ourselves? It was only a year before the election took place, and I was watching myself losing confidence in the course of democracy that the nation was heading.

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I wouldn’t have thought that it had just been five years since we were the election toddler – the one that needed guidance just to make sure we would walk with mild tumble. This year, to everybody’s surprise – including my own, and perhaps you too – Indonesia’s election had been the story of movement. The rise of the underdog candidate against the comeback of the military general was one thing; but the movement of the people who their rights and make sure they are heard were gallant though unprecedented.

This happens: a volunteer based campaign with people from the infamous refuser of election to the smart medalist from the science olympic scholars take turns to ensure that their candidate wins, people write and share their thoughts, arguments was the new form of coffee talk, a thorough background check for each candidate based decisions of who to choose. You talk to people from a lower economy level, and they believe the same grand idea of Indonesia as the elite does; and they are confident with their voice – confident with their candidates. They know their matters. They know they matter.

The title of this entry was based on this documentary – that will soon be released. It is a compilation of seventeen journalists’ works over the length of the campaign to date. It is a range of emotional and political intense, of curious eyes and hopeful stress; of true cheers and disappointing jeers; from the houses with no tile to the wine one could afford to celebrate.

I’m so damn proud, what a journey. I hope everyone is having a good thrust, the run is still far from ending.