Karim Raslan

Karim Raslan: Democracy at Work

The honeymoon is over. After the euphoria surrounding President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s victory in the elections and the suspense leading to the announcement of his cabinet, reality has hit home.

The controversial detention (and subsequent release just after midnight on Wednesday) of two senior officials of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah, has reminded everyone of what’s really at stake.

The detention of the deputy commissioners, who were arrested over allegations of abuse of power and extortion, has unleashed a wave of public anger and frustration.

When Bibit and Chandra were first detained on Oct. 29, few people anticipated the kind of uproar that would ensue. But public opinion swung dramatically to the side of the KPK officials, as demonstrated when a Facebook group set up in support of the two officials attracted tens of thousands of hits. With the Internet pushing Bibit and Chandra’s agenda, countless prominent individuals also rose to the challenge and rallied behind the antigraft officials’ cause. That, combined with the revelation of incriminating wiretaps — made public on the instruction of the Constitutional Court — culminated in their release.

But for me, the most important aspect of this case is not the ongoing conflict between the powerful institutions of the KPK and the police. Nor is it even the various conspiracy theories that have sprung up, of which there are too many to tabulate. To my mind, the two important developments in the case are, first, the way Indonesia’s civil society rallied around an issue of national importance, and second, the way the Internet helped to facilitate this trend.

In the weeks after Yudhoyono’s thumping victory, there were fears of a consolidation of power, of a gradual but steady diminution of the democratic space. The outcry over Bibit and Chandra’s detention has shown otherwise; Indonesia’s democracy remains resilient. Reformasi led to the opening of a Pandora’s box, which could not be closed — a testimony to the republic’s strength of character.

Freewheeling and unregulated, the Internet has played a critical role, serving as a platform for independent debate, so much so that mainstream media are left with no choice but to start reporting issues that are causing waves in cyberspace.

Indeed, the intensity of chatter on social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter reveals the influence they are gaining. It is important to note that, because both sites are essentially independent and driven by individual postings, it’s almost impossible to manipulate or control how people respond to particular events.

This dramatic flattening of the media landscape lessens the power and influence of owners, editors, producers, journalists and indeed columnists such as myself. For many, this sort of transparency will be painful. At the end of the day, you, the reader, are in charge.

And one can only expect this process to accelerate, as technological change gathers momentum. While there were only 25 million Internet users in Indonesia in 2008, mobile penetration is 60 percent and soaring on the back of a 40 percent annual growth. At the same time, the explosive increase in handheld computing devices, such as BlackBerries, also signals a dramatic expansion in Internet usage. As a result, ordinary people can shape all aspects of news-making, tipping the balance of power away from the elite.

The Internet is a “game-changing” agent even in a polity such as Indonesia where the media is relatively free. In my country, Malaysia, with its far tighter media regulations, people have long since lost their trust in the mainstream media. Instead, they have migrated in droves to the Web for both news and analysis.

So what does this mean for Yudhoyono’s administration as it moves forward? I detect three main themes:

First, the push against corruption will be maintained, if not intensified. The release of the KPK officials is a triumph of popular sentiment over entrenched interests.

Second, civil society, showing a surprisingly high degree of public awareness and experiencing success, will look to wield its influence more often. This will make SBY’s second term much more complex than many initially expected.

Third, the president, committed as he is to a consensual mode of governing, will look for ways to co-opt and win over the netizens. His increased focus on the Web will confirm the reality that Indonesia now possesses a Fifth Estate, the Internet, along with the Fourth Estate, which is the media.

Anyone who ignores this reality does so at his peril.

Karim Raslan is a columnist who divides his time between Malaysia and Indonesia.

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