Helplessness pervasive among Indonesians<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A pervasive feeling of helplessness is still
\nreigning over most Indonesians, and they have a tendency to
\nremain silent in the face of injustices or other difficulties, a
\nscholar says.<\/p>\n
Dr. Marwah Daud Ibrahim, a legislator from the House's
\nCommission I on security and political affairs, said on Wednesday
\nthat this helplessness is a legacy of the authorities' domination
\nduring the first 25 years of the New Order government.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a monthly dialog at the Jakarta Arts Center,
\nTaman Ismail Marzuki, Marwah was commenting on the glitches in
\nthe present implementation of democracy, including the recent
\nbans against the public appearances of a literary figure and a
\nhuman rights activist.<\/p>\n
Poet\/playwright Emha Ainun Nadjib was barred from staging his
\nplay in Ujungpandang, while activist Adnan Buyung Nasution was
\nprevented from speaking in a seminar in Surabaya, East Java.<\/p>\n
According to Marwah, her meetings with people in rural areas,
\nfor instance, has convinced her of the magnitude of problems the
\npeople face. However, she said she detected an encouraging
\ndevelopment because most people "are capable of articulating
\ntheir grievances".<\/p>\n
In the discussion attended by several literary figures and
\nalso by Adnan Buyung, Marwah examined the ongoing changes
\naffecting the pattern of domestic political communication.<\/p>\n
However, despite various shortcomings in the present
\nsituation, there are many reasons to be optimistic, she said.<\/p>\n
Marwah, who is also a leading member of the ruling functional
\ngroup Golkar, identified a number of fundamental changes
\nIndonesia has undergone during the last several decades which
\npromise even better development in the future.<\/p>\n
Among them are better economic conditions, more access to
\neducation, advancement in science and technology and better
\nabilities among people to comprehend problems, she said.<\/p>\n
"There is an overall increase of confidence,..which helps spur
\ntransformations in political communication," she said.<\/p>\n
According to Marwah, the future pattern of political
\ncommunication will change, from the previous centralized flow to
\na more decentralized nature.<\/p>\n
"Politics will be more pluralistic and participatory in the
\nfuture," she said. "The government will have to distribute more
\nresponsibility for political communication to non-state actors."<\/p>\n
More say<\/p>\n
Political communication will also flow from "bottom-up" rather
\nthan "top-down", meaning that ordinary people will have more say
\nin the decision making processes. "This in an inevitable
\ndevelopment, as people become more educated, better informed and
\nwill want more access to policy making," she said.<\/p>\n
In order to help usher in such changes, both the people and
\nthe government should discard many of the old, often polarizing,
\nviews about many issues.<\/p>\n
"Take politics, for example," Marwah said. "Perhaps we should
\ndiscard its old definition, which is a struggle of power, and
\ntake up a new one, which is the management of the nation."<\/p>\n
"If we want this positive transformation to take place, we
\nshould take a more synergic view of life," she said. "We should
\npool the energy of the young people and the wisdom of the old,
\nbalance the roles of civilians and the military, the government
\ninstitution and the non-governmental organizations."<\/p>\n
Several participants in the discussion promptly branded
\nMarwah's opinion as "far-fetched", "unrealistic" and "too
\nidealistic", and came up with a long list of "proof" that such
\ntransformation is still far away.<\/p>\n
"Our young people now are mute, inarticulate," said Hardi, a
\npainter. "The art bans are proof that we are still subjected to
\npolitical engineering by the power holders. And politics is still
\na struggle for power."<\/p>\n
A student participant protested Marwah's presentation, saying
\nthat no positive transformation could be made by leaving the
\ngreater portion of political power to the authorities alone.<\/p>\n
Marwah countered the criticism saying that favorable
\ndevelopment has already arrived, and that it represents "raw
\nmaterial" for greater democracy.<\/p>\n
"Certainly we need to nudge the machinery to start it off, and
\nabove all we need a psychological change, in order to erase the
\nfeeling of helplessness," she said.<\/p>\n
"But we're moving, because the government has no other course
\nexcept to, for instance, decentralize authority. And we should
\nnot just wait for the government to do the whole job."<\/p>\n
She also reminded the participants that "important change is
\nthe accumulation of many small changes."<\/p>\n
"Even the banning of some people serve as a way to awaken our
\nvision and brings hope of more freedom," she said. (swe)<\/p>",
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