Natural Resources Under Vortex of Simultaneously Elections

Abstract

. The political phenomenon that develops in the democratic order in Indonesia shows that local election (Pilkada) has become a "political industry" that requires large capital for investment. This research explores the high cost of contest local elections, which is then used by the cukong to become a partner for politicians in hunting down rent through the Pilkada. Our findings show that the Pilkada becomes an arena for battle between cukong, and regions that have abundant natural resources are contested by large local and national cukong to finance all the needs of the candidate's campaign. They control natural resources, so they are the ones who decide who is the regent, who is the governor. Natural resources, especially coal mines, are occupied emphasize as one of the main sources of driving the political machine, which has an impact on bad environmental management practices. A large number of political party leaders and several businessmen who own mining, large-scale plantations have contributed to the destruction and overexploitation of nature. Therefore, the issue of natural resources must be included in the agenda of local and national political processes and break the chain of political cukong with transactional natural resource rulers.