Are we really independent?<\/p>\n
Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
"Are we really independent?" This sarcastic question is often
\nheard these days, not only from the people in the street but also
\nfrom almost all segments of society.<\/p>\n
The country's dependence on foreign aid to cope with its
\neconomic problem, the increase in the unemployment, the
\ndegradation of the educational quality and the lack of law and
\norder are some of the many factors that have led the people to
\nthink that we are still not fully independent.<\/p>\n
Imam B. Prasojo, a noted sociologist at the University of
\nIndonesia, acknowledges that Indonesia is still far from being
\nindependent, although Indonesia gained its political status as an
\nindependent country when it proclaimed its Independence 58 years
\nago.<\/p>\n
"Currently, independence is too conventionally interpreted.
\nThe first phase of independence has already passed, but the
\nsecond phase is still up and down," he said. "We should cry
\ntogether that there are still many of us do not have access to
\nbasic needs."<\/p>\n
Independence should not only be interpreted as being
\nfree from imperialism, but also free from the shackles of lack of
\naccess to education, health service, water, transportation and
\ncommunication, etc. Lack of access to basic needs has caused
\nIndonesia's human development index to rank at 112, much lower
\nthan Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Currently, thousands of schoolchildren in Purwakarta, Cisarua,
\nPoso, Maluku and Aceh, and other regions deal with problems of
\nquality and availability of educational facilities like buildings
\nand teachers.<\/p>\n
"Hundreds of schools have collapsed or burnt down, while some
\nchildren cannot go to school due to geographical constraints,"
\nImam said.<\/p>\n
He emphasized the need for the country to focus on public
\nservices instead of merely on economic growth. "We are successful
\nin recognizing individual goals, but fail in identifying
\ncollective goals because there is no communal leadership that can
\nprovide focus and inspire people to build a wide road to basic
\nneeds.<\/p>\n
"What is the meaning of independence if there are still so
\nmany people unemployed, a high poverty rate and ongoing war in
\nAceh," said Binny Buchori, executive secretary of the
\nInternational NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (Infid).<\/p>\n
She said that most of the country's policies were still
\ndictated by foreign institutions such as the International
\nMonetary Fund (IMF).<\/p>\n
The policy on water privatization, for example, only caused
\nunequal access to water among citizens she said. "Does selling
\nstate-owned companies guarantee the absence of corruption? What
\nabout our responsibility of giving the public access to quality
\nservices?"<\/p>\n
The policy of zero percent tax on imported agricultural
\nproducts like sugar has also flooded the country with foreign
\nproducts.<\/p>\n
"It does not mean I'm not in favor of the open market, but we
\nshould take a different role in our relationship with the IMF.
\nJust like Thailand, we can revise policies that do not promote
\nsocial and economic justice," she said.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, policies on debt and budget allocation
\nwere required to be in line with the spirit of the Uinted
\nNation's Millennium Development Goal to reduce poverty by half by
\n2015.<\/p>\n
"How can we achieve that if our budget is allocated toward
\npaying foreign and domestic creditors? We have to stop this if we
\nwant to be independent.<\/p>\n
"In the Consultative Group on Indonesia, we should be the
\nleader, not the World Bank," Binny said, adding that Indonesia
\nshould be confident as a sovereign country to join others in
\nstrengthening the G-24 and UNCTAD, and challenging international
\nmonetary policies at the World Trade Organization, World Bank and
\nthe IMF.<\/p>\n
Being an independent country also means that it should be able
\nto provide security guarantee to its citizens. Denny J.A.,
\npolitical analyst and researcher at the Indonesian Survey
\nInstitute, said that independence would be meaningless if the
\ncitizens did not get their primary right: feeling safe.<\/p>\n
"People prefer being poor but secure, rather than being
\nwealthy and living under life-threatening conditions," he said.<\/p>\n
To ensure that the people really feel that they are truly
\nindependent, improving security and order should be the
\ngovernment's first priority, he said.<\/p>\n
The first thing the government can do is to revise its
\nAntiterrorism Law, and give more leeway for security authorities
\nto get rid of terror threats and hand down firmer punishments to
\nculprits, Denny said.<\/p>\n
"Compared to our neighboring country Singapore, our law in
\nhandling terrorism is too lenient," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/are-we-really-independent-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}