The Political Elite Has Lost Its People

By: Ahmad Rofiq, Chairman of the Gema Bangsa Party

There’s a simple question every politician today must answer: Do the people still trust us?

I believe many know the answer—but few dare to admit it. The truth is, the political elite has strayed too far from the people. Decisions are made behind closed doors, power strategies are crafted through electoral calculations, and politicians reappear only during election season with the same recycled promises. Meanwhile, the people? They’re told to vote, told to listen—but never truly invited to participate.

When politics becomes the property of the elite, the people slowly begin to feel like strangers in their own country. They lose trust—even hope. This is where our democracy begins to wither—not because elections don’t exist, but because the people feel they no longer have control.

At Gema Bangsa, we see this as a crisis that cannot be ignored. We didn’t come to add to the list of parties racing for power—we came to redirect the course: from top to bottom, from center to margins, from elite to people.

That’s why we reject the top-down political system that has long locked out public participation. We believe that voices from villages, from small communities, from those long considered peripheral—must become the center of national political decisions. The people don’t just deserve to be heard—they must be given the space to decide.

Democracy must no longer be monopolized by the elite. It must grow from participation, honesty, and the courage to build a new system—one that doesn’t serve power, but empowers the people.

We know this path isn’t easy. But we believe it’s the only way to restore trust. And without the people’s trust, politics has no meaning at all.

Let’s return politics to where it belongs: in the hands of the people.