Indonesians Say Democracy Can Hurt Minorities, Spark Conflict: Survey

Illustration Picture (ucanews)

Indonesians support the democratic system but believe that it can harm minority groups and economic development, as well as spark conflict, a survey reveals.

The survey, which was conducted by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) between June and July, revealed that 53.3 percent of 1,700 respondents believed that democracy tended to put pressure on minorities.

The survey also disclosed that 50.4 percent of respondents said that democracy could hinder the country’s economic development, while 49.9 percent of them believed that democracy could trigger conflicts.

LIPI researcher Wawan Ichwanuddin said Thursday that 35.2 percent of respondents considered that democracy was not in line with the nation’s traditional and community values. “The survey shows that 70 percent of respondents believe that democracy is the preferred political system. However, several people view democracy very negatively,” he told reporters during a press conference in Jakarta.

According to Wawan, the survey also revealed respondents’ disapproval of existing political parties.
Only 23.4 percent of them trusted political parties, he said. The figure was lower than the respondents' trust in the President (55.5 percent), the courts (32 percent) and the House of Representatives (29.7 percent).

Respondents believed that Indonesia should have fewer political parties. A staggering 58.3 percent of them said they would prefer five political parties, while the remaining 28.1 percent wanted three parties. Only 3.5 percent of respondents said Indonesia should have more than 10 political parties.

The survey's participants also said the government’s performance was poor in economic welfare (22 percent) and corruption eradication (46 percent). JP