I could not disagree anymore with The Indonesian Institute’s mission statement: “The 2004 general election would be a decisive momentum whether democracy can live and grow in Indonesia or not.” I believe it is the responsibility of all Indonesian people to support the election and make it become a true democratic event that can make a difference in our people’s lives and our future as a nation. So, what kind of election that can bring us such a difference? And how can we, as responsible citizens, contribute to the objective?

Looking at campaigns are being initiated by political parties and presidential candidates, there have been a long list of political agenda put forward. They can be summed up in five top priorities: upholding democracy and human rights, maintaining Indonesian unity, revamping economic growth, fighting corruption (sic!), and building good governance.

Every law abiding and critical citizen will undeniably agree with all the important issues. But more than that, we truly hope that all political parties and presidential candidates really mean what they say and consistently place these issues in the center of their agenda, and effectively implement them if they won the election. But, are we satisfied with these promises? Frankly speaking, I’m not! Since the evil is in the detail, we deserve to demand more detailed substances in their political program rather than the superficial, rhetorical, and too broad agenda in which the politician can easily get away when they fail.

While we respect and support politicians who lay out a clear mission and broad road map to build a better Indonesia, we should demand how they will address and manage hard facts and realities faced by the country. As an individual citizen and constituent I would like to present one of the hardest facts needs to be addressed as a litmus test for our politician whether they really can make a difference to our future.

·        From 1985 to 1995, about two million children in Indonesia lost their lives due to domestic conflicts; between four and five million were disabled; and two millions were separated from their parents. Particularly in Maluku, children under 18 have been recruited as soldiers in the conflict. No statistics yet for Aceh. 

·        In 1999, it is estimated that there were 2.3 million child labors. This is an underestimated figure as it only covered the formal sector work of children over the ages of 10. It is also estimated that 23% of domestic workers in Indonesia are between the age of 10 and 18. Another depressing figure is that about a third of all registered and unregistered commercial sex workers (between 40,000 and 70,000) are under 18 years old.

·        Each year, about a million children between the ages of 7 and12 years are not enrolled in primary school. Of those who do enroll, nearly one million drop out before completing the primary cycle.

·        A 1999 survey registered about 40,000 street children in 12 major cities across Indonesia. The numbers are growing. Around 4% to 7% of them are homeless and actually live on the streets, vulnerable to abuse, diseases, and exploitation.

For many years in the child issue has never been the top priority of our political agenda. We put it aside and consider it as a domestic subject. It is not a fancy political issue to discuss, especially among the intellectuals and political scholars. Politicians are not interested since children cannot bring more votes to the election box as they are not registered as voters anyway. But, we know exactly that children are not only the pillars of our survival as a nation in the future, they also have full rights to survive, develop, being protected and to participate as granted by our Constitution. Furthermore, our government has signed and rectified the Convention of Child Rights in which government is held accountable to ensure child rights are met.

This child issue is an urgent matter and demanding immediate actions. We can wait no longer without initiating major improvements. It cannot wait and any rhetorical political campaign won’t work. Ascobat Gani (Public Health Economist at University of Indonesia) called them as a lost generation. An under five acute malnourished child will experience brain damage and lose an opportunity to develop their intellectual and mental capacities for their whole life. There is nothing we can do, and if it is, it would be too late.

While we can argue how to detail the road map addressing those issues – the five top priorities above -, we would like to see our politicians and leaders come up with a clear framework how they will put the children at the center of their political and development agenda.

Many people have a major concern on the country economic growth and recovery. It’s understandable that the most popular demands in the next election would include creation of more job opportunity and lowering price of basic needs. However, for the general election 2004, we must listen to Mathew d’Ancona, a bright, young British columnist: “The old question for politician was, whom do you trust with your pocket-book? The new question is, whom do you trust with your kids?” 

In the political campaign, presidential debates, and through public media venues let us put this question on the table for our politicians and see who really care with our kids and the future of this nation. If they don’t know how to tackle these realities (or don’t care), they should not be elected as leaders and people representatives.

*) Trihadi Saptoadi is Executive Director of an International NGO and  currently working in Nepal.