Gamari Sutrisno and the Misconception about Legislative Members

"The hard thing that we need to clarify is public opinion and it is not an easy thing"

Mon, 1 July, 2013
Andira and Dika

JAKARTA - Before we came and had a chance to talk with this legislative member, both of us already had a bad perception about those people who have a job there. We thought that legislative members have a thick connection with term corruption like what often being portrait in media. We also think that they have taken the citizen’s money for their own benefits. But after we met him, it turned out to be the opposite.

Friendly and religious, those are our first impressions when we met this man. His name is Mr. Gamari Sutrisno and he is a part of Komisi II in Indonesian House of Representatives. This 62 years old man belongs to Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS).  His background was from communication, where he studied and worked in AKPEN (Akademi Penerangan). Because he has the same background with us then we found it easier and interesting to discuss our contrast perception with him.

Our conversation with him began with how he became a legislative member which started after he retired from Menkopolkam  (Menteri Koordinator Bidang Politik dan Keamanan). He explained that after his retirement, he often attended studies that conducted by state and private agencies and also became a lecturer in several universities.

“While attending these studies, I met many people, including the mentors who came from PKS. I attended these studies for about two years and after that, I was being offered to be legislative member from PKS.  I agreed on this since PKS has the same vision and mission like me, which is dakwah. Long story, I was elected to be the official legislative member for Daerah Pemilihan III, Central Java that includes cities like Blora, Pati, Rembang, and Grobogan.” He continued his explanation.

He also explained the 3 main jobs of House of Representative to us.  The first job is to make legislation that related with their (Komisi II) partners, such as Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of the State Secretariat, Government Administration Agency, and 6 others agencies. The second job is to supervise the government in doing their regulations to know if they keep going in the right track. They also supervise the budget that being used by them. The last main job is to discuss the budget that being proposed from the government to House of Representatives.  Surprisingly, without we had a chance to talk to him about this, he took initiative to clarify people’s misunderstandings regarding his job.

“This is what often being misunderstood by public. They think that House of Representatives are the one who hold the budget and we are the one who corrupted. But the truth is the budget is not on us. Our budget is only involved in giving the legislative members’ salary. If there is a corruption caused by legislative member, then it might be because they have connection with private agency. And if we find any violation acts, we will call the Minister or the party that involved in this case in order reminding them about their actual job.”

Furthermore, we tried to ask him about PKS’ ex-president imported meats corruption issue. At first, he said that he did not want to discuss about that. But, he explained his point of view regarding that issue.

            

           ” I’d rather not say about that matter. But, I need to explain that personal case has to be separated from party related cases. Right now, it is a personal case. The truth is, PKS as an institution/party does not have any incidents because the party does not contribute to any corruption. Only being implied so by the media and some other groups because it is the president who is in this issue that is why people think that it is identical with PKS itself. So far, PKS itself is pretty solid, meaning that we could tell the differences between personal matters over party issues. The hard thing that we need to clarify is public opinion and it is not an easy thing.”  

This man, who used to be mentored by Indonesia current president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, told us that it is important to shape another opinion as a diversion when public opinion has been constructed.

“If you keep quiet, it stands for agreement, but if you speak up, it will be considered as a denial. But in every action there is a risk. That is why, if you pay much attention to media, PKS stands against this issue. If someone were making a personal opinion over something, it has to be questioned. One opinion should meet with another. If we stay quiet over this, people would think that our personal issues are party issues.”

       

             That is the end of our conversation with Mr. Gamari Sutrisno. To be honest, this interview open up our new perceptions toward legislative members since we often associated them with bad things, especially corruption. We also learned not to be over generalized everything. Just because one individual does something wrong, does not mean all of the individuals in the community are all the same. This is like what happened between Mr. Gamari and PKS. Even though PKS is involved with corruption case, Mr. Gamari is not affected by that. Because of this thing, we conclude that Mr. Gamari Sutrisno is one of the good legislative members.

                                                                                                                                Andira & Dika,

Communication Binus International 2015

Life as a Legislative Member : A Story of Gamari Sutrisno

        Friendly, that is our first impression when we met this man. His name is Mr. Gamari Sutrisno and he is a part of Komisi II in Indonesian House of Representatives. This 62 years old man belongs to Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS). One thing that makes us, Andira and Dika, interested in him is the fact that he comes from communication background, which is completely different from his current job in politics. On May 27^th, 2013, we had a chance to talk with him about his decision on working out of his comfort zone, his life as a legislative member, and also his experiences.

So, Mr. Gamari, we read that you actually come from communication background which is often associated with a light subject. Why you suddenly decided to move to political world? Because as we all know politic is a heavy subject.

Who says that I move?? Hahaha…. I actually did not move.

Well… I do come from communication background. When I graduated from formal school I continued my education in Information Academy (AKPEN). Basically this is similar with communication academy because we have several majors such as electronic media and printed media which are related with communication. After graduated, I went to Publication Faculty to pursue my bachelor degree, then to United States to get my magister and doctor degree.

In AKPEN, I started both of my education and working careers, which include working in Information Department until it being closed by Gus Dur (Indonesia Former President) in 2000s. After that, I worked in Menteri Koordinator Bidang Politik dan Keamanan (Menkopolkam) with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (Indonesia current president) as my mentor until finally, I proposed an early retirement.

After retired, I attended studies that conducted by state and private agencies and also became a lecturer in several universities. While attending these studies, I met many people, including the mentors who came from PKS. I attended these studies for about two years and after that, I was being offered to be legislative member from PKS.  I agreed on this since PKS has the same vision and mission like me, which is dakwah. Long story, I was elected to be the official legislative member for Daerah Pemilihan III, Central Java that includes cities like Blora, Pati, Rembang, and Grobogan.

Does this means that when you first being offered the job as a legislative member, you already prepared to fulfill that, Mr. Gamari?

Yes, I do because if I did not prepare, how come I become a legislative member until now? Hahahahaha. And prepared means ready in terms of moral and material because I have to prepare in both aspects.

Are there any programs that should be done by Komisi II?

Of course, Komisi II has the same main jobs like other commission in House of Representatives. The first job is to make legislation that related with our partners, such as Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of the State Secretariat, Government Administration Agency, and 6 others agencies. The second job is to supervise the government in doing their regulations to know if they keep going in the right track. We also, supervise the budget that being used by them. The last main job is to discuss the budget that being proposed from the government to House of Representatives. This is what often being misunderstood by public. They think that House of Representatives are the one who hold the budget and we are the one who corrupted. But the truth is the budget is not on us. Our budget is only involved in giving the legislative members’ salary. If there is a corruption caused by legislative member, then it might be because they have connection with private agency. And if we find any violation acts, we will call the Minister or the party that involved in this case in order reminding them about their actual job.

Beside those main jobs, we also listen to people aspirations. There are 2 ways to get their aspirations, which are inviting them to meet us and visiting them, face-to-face to their location (reses). Every year we do 4 reses and for this year, I already done 1 reses.

Then what kind of problems that you found in there?

There many problems like damage infrastructures, agriculture, education and health. This education, agriculture, and health problems apparently appear in many other locations and it makes this also become the national problem, not only a local problem.

Does government give their effort in order to reduce this problem?

Yes of course they do, but the main thing is how much is the effort, that is what we (House of Representatives) are paying attention to.

As we know that PKS is being issued with corruption. Do you have any comments relating to that case? What do you think about it and does it affect you in some way?

I’d rather not say about that matter. But, I need to explain that personal case has to be separated from party related cases. Right now, it is a personal case. The truth is, PKS as an institution/party does not have any incidents because the party does not contribute to any corruption. Only being implied so by the media and some other groups because it is the president who is in this issue that is why people think that it is identical with PKS itself. So far, PKS itself is pretty solid, meaning that we could tell the differences between personal matters over party issues. The hard thing that we need to clarify is public opinion and it is not an easy thing.

When public opinion is constructed, we have to be able to shape another opinion as a diversion. If you keep quiet, it stands for agreement, but if you speak up, it will be considered as a denial. But in every action there is a risk. That is why, if you pay much attention to media, PKS stands against this issue. If someone were making a personal opinion over something, it has to be questioned. One opinion should meet with another. If we stay quiet over this, people would think that our personal issues are party issues.

What are the ups and downs in being a legislative member? Is it hard?

I feel that being a legislative member is citizen’s trust. It is an honor, not pride. I am happy that I am able to live the task from people. For me, to meet citizens is fun. I can talk with labor workers, farmers to fishermen.  Although the impression of being a member is not always positive, I believe that each member does not act similarly. As long as I do not violate or betray the citizen’s trust, I am enjoying this job.

                That is the end of our fun and warm conversation with Mr. Gamari Sutrisno. To be honest, he changes our perception about House of Representatives and government. We also learned many values from him like how communication is important in our life just like how pan pizza is important in holding the pieces of pizza. It was such an honor for us to meet and talk with him personally. At the end, we feel grateful for that.

                                                                                                                                Andira & Dika,

Communication Binus International 2015

Woman in Politics

          Recently, Yenny Wahid made into a headline with the speculation that she will be joining Democratic Party, even becoming the vice chairman of Democratic Party. This speculation is not without a base because we all know that her party, Partai Kedaulatan Bangsa Indonesia Baru (PKBIB), unfortunately, did not pass the selection for 2014 election. Yenny Wahid herself is not a new name in Indonesia politic fields. Yenny, or Zannuba Ariffah Chafsoh Rahman Wahid, is the daughter of former Indonesia President, Abdurrahman Wahid. She is also a former general secretary for Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB). But, then, she decided to establish her own political party named PKBIB with her as a chairman.

            Sadly (or fortunately, by some people), on Tuesday, April 16^th, 2013, Yenny Wahid has confirmed through her Twitter account (Wow…look at how technology can do nowadays) that she will not be joining Democratic Party. Her announcement also confirmed by Imron Rosyidi Hamid, the secretary general of PKBIB on the same day (nasional.kompas.com).

            Yenny Wahid is one of the female political figures in Indonesia politics. Beside Yenny Wahid, we still has many other female political figures such as our former president, Megawati Soekarnoputri, and Rieke Diah Pitaloka, who widely known as an actress,  that recently been nominated as the governor for West Java. These three women among with other female political figures have showed people that hey...politics is not only for man nowadays, it’s for woman too.

Unlike man, it is not easy for woman to get involved in politics. Politics described as masculine thing according to two political scientists, Susan Bourque and Jean Grossholt. They conclude that;

politics is define as masculine activity. The basis for assertions of male political dominance and the unwillingness to take female participation seriously, derives from this definition of politics. Those characteristics and enthusiasms which supposedly swayed men (war, controversy, electoral manipulation) are defined as specifically political, while those characteristics and enthusiasms which supposedly sway women (human needs for food, clothing and shelter, adherence to consistent moral principles, the pre-emption of national by human concerns, a rejection of war as rational) are simply not considered political. When women are being ‘political’ they are being more like men, and in fact, most women have learned to be just that (1974, 258).

            In other words, there is no chance for a woman to get involve in politics because everything in politics is only related to man, man, and man. But, hey, time has changed! Now, thanks to feminism, woman can get involve more, not only in politics, but also in other aspects such as education, technology, and economy.

           What is feminism? Basically, feminism means a certain belief about gender equality among man and woman. It means that woman has the right to have the same power, opportunities, and rights like man. The first wave of feminism appeared in 19th century and until now, there has been countless movements about this issues.

            In Indonesia, we are more familiar with the term, woman emancipation. This actually has a similar meaning with feminism. Woman emancipation means giving freedom for woman to aspire their rights. If we talk about woman emancipation, obviously we will talk about Raden Ajeng Kartini, the central figure about this issue. Raden Ajeng Kartini is the one who fights for women rights in education. Thanks to her, woman can goes to school now. Kartini’s movements also inspired other women to aspire their rights in other area, including politics. The biggest achievement of Indonesian woman in politics is when Megawati Soekarnoputri became the first female president in 2001 until 2004.

            Nowadays, woman involvement in politics has increased greatly. This can be shown by the increasing percentage of  women representation in DPR from 9.0 % in 1999 – 2004 to 11.3 % in 2004 – 2009 (Khofifah Indar Parawansa (2005)). Beside that, the quota for female legislative members in the House of Representatives, which is 30% now, also shows a great development for woman role in politics.

            As a woman, I am very proud of these achievements. It is really inspiring to see how hard woman has to struggle for the past years until they can make it now. Beside that, still talking about inspiring, believe it or not, sometimes these movements triggered me to participate something in politics. I don’t know why, but sometimes, I feel like I want to work in the government to fix this country. Wow...such a big dream that I have!!! Hahahahahaha. Anyway, who knows if I can make it despite my lack of knowledge about politics, but hey, people can learn, right?

But, at the same time, it does not mean that woman fights in politics are now finished because there are still many things that we need to improve. This includes raising woman awareness about politics. There are still many women out there, especially who lived in the village, who trapped in a stereotype that woman is only responsible for household issues, such as cooking, washing clothes, and taking care of children. These women does not really care about politics. In my opinion, to raise their awareness, those women political figures need to give them socialization about what is politics itself and what can they do to participate. No, we do not need to influence them to apply for legislative members. Start from the simplest thing first which is how to use their vote rights. By this simple thing, who knows that it can inspire them to get more involved in politics by becoming politicians, or even president? And yes, starting from this simple thing, surely we will make Kartini proud out there :)

First Post!

Hello, guys!!

This is Andira and yes, I am making a new blog now :D

You may know me from diramonds.blogspot.com before. And no, I am not going to close that blog. That blog is still active :)

The reason why I am making another blog is for the purpose of doing my assignments for Introduction to Political Science subject. Basically, my lecturer told my class to write about our political thoughts in a blog for assignments and he will check it. Eventhough I already had a blog, I still think I need to make another blog for the purpose of that class only. Because I think it would be weird if I wrote about Indonesia political condition after I reviewed the current K-Dramas that I watched in one blog hehehehe.

So, that's all I want to say. If you are going to see my reviews on movies and K-Pop, you can access diramonds.blogspot.com. But, if you are curious about my political thoughts, you can access this blog achairuni.blogspot.com.

Regards,

Andira Putri Chairuni