It could have been worse<\/p>\n
In a car accident, a man suffered broken legs and arms, his
\ncar was smashed beyond repair. He is lucky. It could have been
\nworse. He could have died, or suffered worse injuries.<\/p>\n
This approach to life, which some people call a Javanese
\nphilosophy to life, is the best way of looking at 2001.<\/p>\n
No matter how bad things were during this politically
\nturbulent year, we could say \"it could have been worse\". This
\nwould spare us from the agony of looking at the wonderful
\nopportunities lost. Things could certainly have been much but
\nthere is no sense in regretting what could have been.<\/p>\n
Politically, 2001 must qualify as one of the most turbulent
\nyears for Indonesia. From scandals to conflicts, we went through
\nthem with all, their ugly consequences.<\/p>\n
The Buloggate scam took a lot of our attention and energy over
\nthe first seven months of the year, during which time nothing
\nelse really mattered. As then president Abdurrahman Wahid, the
\nman at the center of the scandal, fought a fierce battle against
\nthe massive campaign to impeach him, all other pressing reform
\nprograms, including economic recovery, the cleaning up of the
\nmess in the legal sector, had to be put on hold.<\/p>\n
Our worst fear of a showdown between his political supporters
\nand opponents, did not materialize. The leadership succession
\nfrom Abdurrahman to Megawati Soekarnoputri proceeded with
\nunpredictable ease and order. But after a new administration was
\nput in place, one that supposedly enjoys greater support from the
\nmajority of political factions, things did not get any better.<\/p>\n
Only a few problems, put on hold in the first seven months of
\nthe year, have been addressed and then not very satisfactorily.<\/p>\n
The economy continues on its year-long path of \"muddling
\nthrough\" without making any significant progress. The government
\nnow learns that the political reforms since 1998 have not only
\ncurtailed its powers, but they have also turned the House of
\nRepresentatives into a monster. The House happily used, or
\nabused, its new found powers, to block just about every other
\ngovernment economic program, at the cost of the entire economy.<\/p>\n
Violent conflicts in some pockets of the archipelago have
\ncontinued to haunt us all year long. The ethnic conflict in
\nKalimantan may have receded, but religious clashes flared up in
\nMaluku and North Maluku, and in the Central Sulawesi regency of
\nPoso. Killing has become a daily occurrence in Aceh.<\/p>\n
In Irian Jaya, the murder of independence leader Theys Hiyo
\nEluay has galvanized the aspirations for a Papuan state. The
\nkillings in Aceh and Irian Jaya eclipsed the significance of new
\nlaws granting sweeping autonomy to the two provinces.<\/p>\n
The new regional autonomy law, which came into force this year
\nafter decades of waiting, proved to be an anticlimax. It has
\nturned into an ugly fight for the control of assets and natural
\nresources, between the regional and central administration, and
\nbetween neighboring provinces. These fights made a mockery of the
\nwhole exercise of granting autonomy to the regions.<\/p>\n
If you think that politically, the nation will be more stable
\nin 2002, you'd better look again. Buloggate II has just started,
\nthis time involving House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and will likely
\nkeep our politicians busy fighting each other this coming year.<\/p>\n
The country's judiciary remains in a mess. The prize for the
\nbiggest blunder goes to the Supreme Court, the last bastion of
\njustice, for acquitting businessman Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra,
\nthe son of former president Soeharto, from graft charges even
\nwhen he had formally admitted to the sin.<\/p>\n
Other than the peace agreement in Poso and the arrest of Tommy
\nSoeharto, both occurring late in the year, you would be hard
\npressed to look for any bright spots in 2001 in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
This has indeed been a year of lost opportunities for
\nIndonesia. We have squandered valuable time and resources on
\nmatters that could and should have been prevented. Still, there
\nis no point in ruing about what we could have achieved.<\/p>\n
As we end the year, it's best to adopt the Javanese philosophy
\nto life and regard 2001 as a year of learning. It could have been
\nworse. Let's hope we have all learned our lessons and pray that
\n2002 turns out to be a much better year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/it-could-have-been-worse-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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