Centralization major threat to unity<\/p>\n
With the 70th Anniversary of the nation's Youth Pledge coming
\nup on Wednesday in the midst of a severe crisis threatening
\nnational unity, The Jakarta Post asked H.S. Dillon to comment on
\nthe current state of the Indonesian nation-state. In addition to
\nbeing an expert in agricultural trade and development, Dillon is
\na leader of the Forum for the Fostering of National Unity (Bakom
\nPKB).<\/p>\n
Question: The 70th Anniversary of the 1928 Youth Pledge is
\nclose at hand, what do you think it means to the youth of today?<\/p>\n
Dillon: I don't really know what it means to our youth, but I
\nfear that we have betrayed our founding fathers (and mothers, too)
\nby not keeping the flames of national unity alive. Our students no
\nlonger have much faith in us, the elite.<\/p>\n
They see us all as conspirators, who allowed the Soeharto
\nregime to abuse its power for so long.<\/p>\n
They might remember it as a date they had to memorize in their
\nhistory classes, but I'm not sure that the spirit of '28 dwells
\nin the hearts of our youth. And we have no one to blame but
\nourselves.<\/p>\n
Q: What is its present-day relevance?<\/p>\n
D: All generations serve their historical purposes, and besides
\nintroducing new elements into society, they are also torch
\nbearers. The '28 generation inherited the \"new consciousness of
\nidentity\" from the '08 generation, and formalized it in the
\npledge of one country, one people, and one language. They formed
\nthe basis for the struggle for independence, which gave birth to
\nthe '45 generation.<\/p>\n
These founders realized that we had a common enemy: colonial
\nexploitation. Now, the crisis has exposed all the faults within
\nour system, I hope all of us now realize that the more we act in
\nconcert the quicker our recovery will be.<\/p>\n
Today, we too have common enemies: greed and insensitivity on
\nthe apart of our leaders and bureaucrats along with the merciless
\nvagaries of global capitalism.<\/p>\n
Q: You seem to be coming down very hard on our leaders; surely
\nthey are doing their best to get us out of the crisis. Could you
\nexplain your position?<\/p>\n
D: I am just expressing a view shared by many. Our leaders have
\nbeen very cavalier in dealing with our most vulnerable groups. It
\nis a disgrace that foreigners have to point out the casualties
\nand demand that the government focus on alleviating their
\nsuffering.<\/p>\n
In a period when millions of households have lost their means
\nof livelihood, the government has actually increased rice prices.<\/p>\n
The manner in which they have been making appointments,
\nformulating policy, and issuing political statements is more
\nreminiscent of the authoritarian Soeharto regime. All the icons
\nof a unified nation-state -- the polity, the army, and
\nbureaucracy -- will have to abandon their old ways before I could
\nbegin to trust them.<\/p>\n
Q: Could you be more specific, please?<\/p>\n
D: Actually, we need the full support of all our people to get
\nout of this crisis. Despite the fact that the previous regime's
\ndivide-and-rule policies have threatened to split the country
\napart, our leaders are demonstrating even more blatant
\nfactionalism.<\/p>\n
This is not the time to blame ethnic groups for the country's
\nills. If anything, blame should be placed on the elite which
\nabetted and benefited from the centralization under Soeharto
\nrule.<\/p>\n
When I talk of centralization, I mean the tendency to collect
\neverything around yourself, your followers, and your cronies --
\nin all walks of life. If Speaker O'Neill used to say that all
\npolitics is local, now it appears that all politics is
\nprimordial. And this driving us further apart.<\/p>\n
Q: You are identifying yourself with a group of \"concerned
\ncitizens\" that wish to distance themselves from the bureaucracy.
\nWhat is it that you are really after?<\/p>\n
D: We want a much stronger, more unified Indonesia emerging from
\nthe crisis. What we want to feel is a need to learn from our
\nmistakes, and to forge a new national consensus.<\/p>\n
We should strive for a national leadership that cherishes
\nplurality. We see this as a time for healing rather than
\ncontinuing to inflict new wounds.<\/p>\n
We would like to rekindle the flames of unity that brought our
\nyouth together in 1928, so that our youth do not lose faith in
\nthe future of our nation.<\/p>",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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