Corruption, lawlessness: The root of all problems<\/p>\n
The Indonesian society is mentally ill as it has lost its sense
\nof humanity. An good illustration of this was seen last week in
\nphotographs splashed across the country with Bali bombing suspect
\nAmrozi and National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, shaking
\nhands, laughing and posing for photographers. Franz Magnis-
\nSuseno, a professor at Jakarta's Driyarkara School of Philosophy,
\ntalked to The Jakarta Post's Muhammad Nafik and Sri Wahyuni about
\nthe issue.
\n
\nQuestion: What's your comment on the images of a police general
\nsmiling, shaking hands, and posing for photographers with
\nterrorist suspect Amrozi?<\/p>\n
Answer: I was really surprised looking at the images (of Da'i and
\nAmrozi smiling at each other). It shows that we are collectively
\ninsolent. We do not know what is appropriate and what is not.
\nThis is a typical situation in our society in general. It is
\nrooted in our dull sense of humanity and justice. It's really
\nhard to understand such a thing. There must be something dull
\nwithin us, and this is very alarming.<\/p>\n
Our dulled sense of humanity probably stems from the fact that
\nwe have shed blood and committed violence too much. People find
\nit easy to consider others not as human beings but animals that
\nthey can strangle or crush like cockroaches.<\/p>\n
I'm concerned that decades of ruthlessness and humiliation of
\nhuman beings, and traditions to isolate parts of the nation from
\nthe rest of it have left scars on the body of this nation. Scars
\nin the sense that the people have become unmoved and lack
\nsensitivity. Spontaneous outrage against violence and injustice
\nis no longer visible unless it has something to do with
\nourselves. This is an indication of a weakness in our moral
\nculture.<\/p>\n
Q: Would you elaborate further?
\nA: I'm trying to link it to how easily our people, especially
\nsecurity personnel, kill others. The communists killed many
\npeople, clerics and military figures, while the TNI (the
\nIndonesian Military) killed many communists, especially in the
\naftermath of the 1965 coup. Millions of people had lost their
\ndignity, such that efforts to rehabilitate them were met with
\nprotests from society.<\/p>\n
We are watching the same things recurring in more limited
\nincidents. The biggest one of course being East Timor, in which
\none fourth of its population died within years of the Indonesian
\noccupation. Other examples include the incidents of Tanjung Priok
\nand Lampung. None (of the masterminds) have ever been taken to
\ncourt.<\/p>\n
We also see a lack of guilt about Aceh, that the extraordinary
\nviolence that has been committed there is not comparable to the
\ntarget of, say, crushing GAM. You may agree that the separatist
\nmovement must be eliminated, but why should it involve so many
\nkillings, torture, rape and deadly shootings without compunction?<\/p>\n
We have also been shocked by the Bali bombings. The
\n(government's) response to the tragedy was not bad, but why
\nshouldn't it be declared a national tragedy? There was no
\nstatement of deep regret.<\/p>\n
Q: But wasn't the nation united in its condemnation of the
\nbombings?
\nA: Yes, of course, but not a reaction of surprise, sadness, for
\nexample, by ordering the people to lower the national flag to
\nhalf mast. I don't think such a thing even crossed people's minds
\nat all. Again, it has something to do with the dulled sense of
\nhumanity.<\/p>\n
Our poor legal system is partly to blame for this problem. Our
\ncultural values, too. We no longer care for each other. Human
\nrelationships have worsened. The sense of community has developed
\ninto communalism, in which the people can only fully comprehend
\nthemselves in the community of the same village, ethnic group or
\nreligion. Others from different backgrounds are not counted and
\nare instead considered as enemies or rivals.<\/p>\n
Q: Are you saying that our society is mentally ill?
\nA: Yes. It is confused and lacks vision after being oppressed for
\na very long period of time, and at the same time there is no
\nfigure who can help it escape the problem. There is no figure
\nlike Sukarno (Indonesia's first president) who was capable of
\nproviding the community with the feeling of pride in being
\nIndonesian. We are poor and incapable of doing a lot of things,
\nbut we are proud to be Indonesians. But, I think, one of the main
\ncauses (of the lack of sense of humanity) is the domination by
\nthe military over people's lives for more than 50 years.<\/p>\n
The military used weapons and oppression, meanwhile no one
\ncould compete with them. They solved all problems by shooting,
\ntorturing, etc. The military has not really yet reformed itself
\nin the context of nationhood.<\/p>\n
Q: But there are groups of people from different religions or
\nethnic groups advocating peace, harmony and pluralism?
\nA: That's right. That's why we should not conclude that we are
\ncompletely hopeless. Even within the security forces, there are
\n(positive) values waiting for a stimulus to revive. They are
\ncapable of developing high values. However, because our life is
\nnow miserable due to the poor law enforcement against corruption,
\nnothing can work well.<\/p>\n
Corruption is very critical not just because it is
\neconomically critical and paralyzing our legal system, but it too
\nhas been gnawing at our ability to develop a sense of solidarity.
\nCorruption has made people purely self-centered. In such
\nconditions, it is difficult for Indonesia to develop. We can only
\nbe united if we come together.<\/p>\n
Q: What solution would you suggest to deal with this problem?
\nA: We have to do so from top to bottom. From the top, from above
\nmeans that we have to take legal action against those committing
\nviolence and other crimes. We have to eradicate corruption and
\ntake corrupt officials and murderers to court. For example, it
\nhas been a year since (Papua separatist leader) Theys Eluay was
\nmurdered but up to now no one has been brought to court. We don't
\nneed to talk much about morality. It's law and order that
\nmatters. So let the law be upheld first. We have to affirm that
\nwe want to be civilized and therefore stern action must be taken
\nagainst all uncivilized deeds.<\/p>\n
Religion, too, can play a good role. If it becomes exclusive
\nand narrow-minded, it will encourage disintegration. Religious
\nleaders are models. If they ask their supporters to behave
\npatiently, tolerantly and fairly, and show solidarity with others
\nfrom different ethnic groups or religions, then it will be a
\npositive factor.<\/p>\n
I am still confident, that if the situation is no longer
\nchaotic, the sense of humanity that has already died will be
\nrenewed. National reconciliation is probably needed, but it
\nshould involve all. Partial involvement will be useless.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/corruption-lawlessness-the-root-of-all-problems-1447893297",
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