JP\/7\/ROHMAN<\/p>\n
Reinventing Indonesia's civic community<\/p>\n
Rochman Achwan
\nSociologist
\nUniversity of Indonesia
\nRachwan@indo.net.id<\/p>\n
Why do most ordinary Indonesians have to live their everyday
\nlives with turbulence, insecurity, horror and other uncivilized
\nmeans of violence? With the latest being the Bali tragedy,
\nIndonesia seems to have embarked on an expedition into the most
\nalien, most dangerous \"continent\" of her very own self -- given
\nthe series of terror and violence since 1998.<\/p>\n
One must search among others into what is wrong with the
\nworld's biggest experiment of democracy -- it is that it neglects
\nthe extraordinary energy of the community. Instead of reinventing
\nit, Indonesian communities are experiencing a sort of contraction
\nand feebleness, unable to cope with the increasing uncertainty of
\nsocial, political and economic life.<\/p>\n
The public arena as an arena of salvation and enrichment of
\nnetworks tends to be subdued and replaced by political and
\ncriminal hoodlums. It is a \"defective and elitist\"
\ndemocratization which develops here -- one marked by a
\ncombination of popular political parties and the exclusion of
\ncommunity members to take part in the process of political
\ndecisions.<\/p>\n
After four long years of the reform era, no single macro
\ninstitution seems to care about the politics of development of
\ncivic communities. Most political parties do not have any
\npolitical platform for the enhancement of communities to
\nparticipate actively in public affairs. They have consciously
\nneglected their key function as facilitators for the development
\nof communities' social skills, which would enable self-
\nmanagement of public affairs which affect them.<\/p>\n
While parliamentary politics seem to become the most important
\nplaying field, sadly political backroom-dealing has become the
\nnorm of the day. Political parties tend to transform themselves,
\nnot as political bridges mediating different interests between
\nthe state and their constituents, but as hierarchical houses of
\npower controlled by their elite, while power is distributed to
\ntheir clients through the means of backroom-dealing. This we call
\n\"political bossism\".<\/p>\n
Such a system denies different interests in the community.
\nThus the four long years of reform is characterized by the
\ndisconnection between political parties and communities.<\/p>\n
Regional autonomy was expected to bolster the rise of civic
\ncommunity in Indonesia. After more than a year of its
\nimplementation, however, there is little signs towards this
\ndevelopment. The establishment of village councils mandated by
\nthe law tends to neglect the richness of the communities' energy.<\/p>\n
In this time of economic turmoil, studies have shown that the
\npolitical disconnection and feebleness of village councils have
\nled to the loss of interdependency of urban and rural areas, from
\nthe centers of social, political and economic resources.<\/p>\n
Many of the customary rotating credit system (arisan),
\nneighborhood-based organizations, rural cooperatives, and other
\ntraditional institutions have been abandoned because such
\ninstitutions have been unable to help people cope with the
\ncrisis. Hence ironically in the march towards democracy, these
\ninstitutions, so far the social bridges connecting communities
\nand their larger surroundings, are vanishing.<\/p>\n
The explosion of various types of violence in Indonesia in the
\nlast four years can be understood as a manifestation of
\ncontraction of social solidarity at the community level. It is
\nfeared that the tendency and forces behind such violence work
\nfaster than the forces of democratization.<\/p>\n
There are clear indications that social violence has developed
\nconsistently; also, \"political bossism\" characterized by
\ndeepening political corruption is increasingly coloring the
\ncanvas of Indonesia's public arena. No doubt such an environment
\nbecomes fertile land for the rise of demagogue and irresponsible
\npoliticians.<\/p>\n
It is high time that a \"roadmap\" be prepared for Indonesia, to
\nenable us to reinvent civic communities. Such a map should inform
\nof the goals and mechanisms to achieve them. In contrast to
\ntraditional communities, the reinvented civic communities must be
\nuniversally inclusive, allowing the participation of different
\nethnicities, and followers of different religions and political
\nviews; and communities which are also inclusive of different
\nlayers in society. By doing so, every civic community has access
\nto develop broader networks beyond the boundary of its territory.<\/p>\n
The creation of such an social infrastructure must be combined
\nwith the introduction of a government-sponsored social policy.
\nThe mechanisms of implementing such a policy must be changed
\ndrastically. In contrast to its previous role, the government,
\nthrough the Coordinating Ministry of Social Welfare, has to
\nfacilitate, not determine, the real basic needs of community
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
The strategic role of this ministry becomes more and more
\nimportant as leading universities, government bodies, and
\nmultilateral and donor institutions have been initiating and
\nimplementing development programs in civic communities. This
\nadministration needs to launch a policy of community initiative
\nto bring about a more civilized society in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The writer heads the University of Indonesia's social research
\ncenter, LabSosio.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp7rohman-1447899208",
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