Let peace reign, so we can start work<\/p>\n
Christmas, followed by Idul Fitri early in the new year,
\nshould remind adversaries among us in this year full of
\nbickering, that both bring the message of peace, writes political
\nanalyst J. Soedjati Djiwandono.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Christmas for the Christians as well as Idul
\nFitri for the Muslims -- both bring the message of peace, peace
\namong men, peace with one another. In the Christian faith, an
\nangel proclaiming \"glory to God in the highest, and peace among
\nmen\" announced the birth of Christ.<\/p>\n
Christmas is a time of goodwill and Idul Fitri is preceded by
\na period of penance and repentance, fasting and abstinence, for
\nGod's forgiveness, for sharing life with other fellow men and
\nwomen by caring for the poor and the needy. Then one can have
\npeace with oneself. At the end of it all, at Idul Fitri, we
\nforgive one another. Then we can have peace with one another. And
\nonly then can we have peace with God the Almighty and the
\nMerciful.<\/p>\n
This is a special Christmas for the Christians, the last in
\nthe present century, the last in the second millennium, as we are
\nabout to enter into the New Year, the new century, the third
\nmillennium. And it will be a special Idul Fitri, still some two
\nweeks off, as it will be the first in the new century, the first
\nin the third millennium, if at least in the international
\ncalendar. Thus the message of peace is peace for all men in the
\nnew century, the new, third millennium.<\/p>\n
What is in store, for us individually and as a nation? The
\nissue of predestination -- I am not sure I believe in it --
\naside, what is going to happen to us in the future will largely
\ndepend on what we do about it now. One's life or destiny, at
\nleast in part, is our own doing, our own creation.<\/p>\n
Soon we will have passed the end of the 20th century, the end
\nbut the worst part of the second millennium. It has been marked
\nby the most atrocious and most frequent of wars, the most brutal
\nforms of violence, among nations as well as among groups within
\nnations. It has gone through the most frequent and most
\nfrightening natural disasters in more countries than ever before.
\nAll of these have resulted in the loss of more human lives than
\never before and in the most abject human suffering.<\/p>\n
As part and parcel of the global phenomenon, Indonesia is by
\nno means an exception. At the end of the century, to top it all,
\nwe have suffered from the most dreadfully debilitating crises,
\npractically in all facets of our national life.<\/p>\n
As a result, we desperately need peace, security and social
\nstability. Accompanied by serious efforts in consistently
\nupholding the rule of law, this will be the basis for the
\nrestoration of our credibility as a nation, which would be the
\nprimary requirement for our economic recovery. In turn, it would
\nbe a means of promoting justice, a determinant factor in our
\nefforts of preventing national disintegration, and thus of
\npromoting national unity and the integrity of our state.<\/p>\n
Surely, it would be too much to expect our new government,
\nbarely three months old, to do anything with a high degree of
\nsuccess. The challenges we face right now would be tough for any
\ngovernment, let alone this government of so many compromises,
\nresulting in a lack of co-ordination and in certain cases a lack
\nof competence.<\/p>\n
Whatever the case, the euphoria of having the most
\ndemocratically elected government ever, at least by our standards
\nand in the context of our fundamentally defective Constitution,
\nof having the Abdurrahman-Megawati duet that succeeded in
\navoiding further conflicts in the aftermath of all the election
\nprocesses that would have resulted in the disintegration of our
\nnation and society, should be over by now. This is time for real
\nwork and realistic and concrete action by all of us.<\/p>\n
It is now time to support the new government, not by
\ncontinuing to praise, and not only by contributing ideas, but
\nalso by open and honest critical views. The national leadership
\nshould stop what looks like continued attempts at repaying its
\nindebtedness to many circles by tossing out further political
\nspoils and patronage. It should stop confusing people by a
\nconundrum of enigmatic remarks and statements, however amusing
\nsome of them may sound at times.<\/p>\n
There should be a clear order of priorities, not in terms of
\ntiming, for various problems need to be dealt with simultaneously
\nand with well thought-out planning, but in terms of emphasis. And
\nnot only the executive branch, but also the other branches of
\ngovernment, and indeed, all of us, in our own ways, in the
\noverall process of learning for reform, must get on with the job.<\/p>\n
If we want peace, then we all must make conscious efforts to
\npromote peace. We should liberate ourselves from hatred,
\nvengeance, and prejudice. We should refuse to be provoked by
\nanyone to resort to violence. This should be a commitment on the
\npart of the whole nation in muddling through the next century,
\nthe first of the third millennium.<\/p>",
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