Indonesia at a critical moment<\/p>\n
Patrick Guntensperger, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It will be interesting to see how Indonesia's new president
\nand his cabinet address the issues that were contentious during
\nthe campaign and that continue to plague the country now that the
\nmandate is confirmed. The people of Indonesia are entitled to
\nexpect, indeed to demand, great things from Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono and his new government; palpable progress in the areas
\nof government corruption, environmental issues, education reform,
\nlaw reform, tax reform and other big ticket items will have to
\nmade and seen to be made if democracy is to have a chance here in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
There are those who, during this time of uncertainty, look
\nfondly back on the days of the political strongmen, the days of
\nautocratic power in the hands of charismatic leaders. Yes, they
\nsay, freedoms were curtailed. Certainly, individual liberty was
\nscarce. But there was a sense of security; life was predictable
\nand the uncertainty that surrounds us today wasn't a big part of
\nthe picture.<\/p>\n
Democracy therefore, to become the new paradigm, must be
\naccompanied by a noticeable improvement in the day-to-day lives
\nof the people of the country. Indonesia is now at the point
\nwhere, if those improvements do not occur and do not occur
\nquickly and in a very palpable way, the people may very well
\nreject the entire notion of democracy as a non-starter and relax
\nback into the comfort of paternalistic dictatorship.<\/p>\n
The people must see that with true democracy come
\nimprovements. The ringing tones of populist buzzwords like
\nliberty, equality and opportunity must be more than noble
\nconcepts. The ideals are great and are definitely to be sought
\nafter, but they must have tangible benefits.<\/p>\n
If we have a democratically elected government but the law is
\nonly there to protect the rich and well-connected, equality will
\nbe nothing more than hot air. If we have a president who was
\ndirectly elected by the people but certain people are excluded
\nfrom consideration for jobs because of their ethnic or social
\nclass, opportunity is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. If the
\nelections were peaceful and a government is formed as the result
\nof promises made, but government services are unobtainable
\nwithout a bribe, liberty does not yet exist.<\/p>\n
Democracy in itself is not an ideal. It is only a way of
\nachieving the goals of liberty, quality, justice, opportunity
\netc. Democracy is far from perfect morally, ethically or
\npractically, but it is the best hope we have for achieving the
\ngoals we all want. But having said that, we must also grant that
\nit is the responsibility of all those who support democracy to
\nmake it work.<\/p>\n
Actual, real, visible change must be made or the anti-
\ndemocratic forces will prevail. If democracy only pays lip
\nservice to the ideals we espouse while behind the scenes it's
\nbusiness as usual and laws remain unjust, inequality reigns and
\nthe suffering of the many is contrasted by the lavish wealth of
\nthe empowered few, those who long for the days of security and
\ncertainty can be forgiven.<\/p>\n
For what good is democracy to anyone if the situation remains
\nthe same except that there is an added level of uncertainty? For
\nthis great democratic experiment to be successful, our new
\ngovernment must make some serious inroads on the big issues. But
\nthis also means that the smaller issues must not be ignored in
\nthe face of the big picture.<\/p>\n
While the upper levels of government are attacking the more
\nevident and egregious abuses in the judiciary, military, and
\nadministrative aspects of the governance of this country, a great
\ndeal of effort must be made at the real nuts and bolts level as
\nwell. The government must not only look at the forest, it must
\nsee the trees, if the people are to be convinced that democracy
\nis in fact the appropriate tool to fix what's amiss with their
\nlives.<\/p>\n
The elimination of much of the paperwork that is required for
\nnearly every simple administrative detail of life in Indonesia
\nwould be a good place to start. It is not being unduly cynical to
\npoint to the obvious; much of the red tape is in place for no
\nother reason than to provide civil servants with more and more
\nopportunities to solicit graft. Needless delays are created by
\nthe paperwork and those delays can always be circumvented with
\nthe provision of a \"tip\" to the very person creating the
\nobstacles.<\/p>\n
If those ingrained and universal aspects of administration in
\nIndonesia were reduced, let alone eliminated, the effects would
\nbe palpable in people's daily lives. The effects would be
\nimmediately noticeable and the population would start to believe
\nthat maybe democracy is the right way to go. The side effect of
\neconomic growth would be easy to spot as well, since the
\nimpediment of the graft system is a major factor in the
\nretardation of Indonesia's development.<\/p>\n
What the new government must see as its mandate is the
\nrequirement that the people's lives actually improve in small but
\nnoticeable ways as a result of honest, transparent and democratic
\ngovernmental processes. Anything less and this fragile experiment
\ncan collapse like a house of cards. The situation is that
\ncritical.<\/p>\n
The writer, social and political commentator, can be reached
\nat ttpguntensperger@hotmail.com<\/p>",
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