Govt told flexibility best long-term security policy<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government must be more accommodating and
\nreceptive to people's demands according to Vedi Hadiz.<\/p>\n
Vedi Hadiz, director of the Society for Political and Economic
\nStudies, told a seminar on Wednesday that the government would be
\nbetter off avoiding the emergence of any people's movements which
\ncan destabilize the nation once they start rolling.<\/p>\n
Ignoring the aspirations of the people in this era of social
\ntransformation will only invoke greater disappointment, Vedi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The present political system must be more flexible in
\naccommodating people's demands,\" he said during a one-day seminar
\non \"The People's Movement in Indonesia\" which was jointly
\norganized by the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals
\nand the Republika daily.<\/p>\n
Noted historian Onghokham, the other speaker in the
\ndiscussion, gave a historical perspective of people's movements
\nin Indonesia which date back to the national movements of the
\nearly 20th century that later grew to lead the struggle for
\nindependence from the Dutch.<\/p>\n
In his presentation, Onghokham said history has shown that
\nmovements were initiated when governments implemented an iron
\nfisted policy.<\/p>\n
Vedi warned the government against imposing restrictions on
\npeople who want to air their views because it would simply add to
\ntheir disappointment.<\/p>\n
Popular movements emerge because the administration fails to
\naccommodate their demands which leads to frustration.<\/p>\n
\"People's movement usually are organized by people who feel
\nthey have been neglected,\" he said, citing the workers' protests
\nin Medan, North Sumatra, last April which turned into a full
\nscale riot as an example.<\/p>\n
The riot was a climax to the workers' disappointment because
\nthey feel they have been ignored for quite a long time by the
\nauthorities, he said.<\/p>\n
The government should reconsider its stance on implementing a
\npolicy of discouraging people from being involved in politics.<\/p>\n
Vedi said that creating such distance would stop the people
\nfrom channeling their aspirations, which would have undesirable
\nconsequences. \"The people will explode if they don't have a
\nchannel for their aspirations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the movements be organized to have a social
\nimpact. (par)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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