Looking for the cause<\/p>\n
National leaders of various religions in the country voiced
\ntheir concerns on Wednesday of the prevailing moral crisis. After
\na two-hour meeting at the headquarters of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
\nthe country's largest Muslim educational organization, in
\nJakarta, the leaders were said to have agreed on the creation of
\na working committee to address \"acute moral illnesses afflicting
\nthe society.\"<\/p>\n
\"We shared our concerns in the meeting and agreed that the
\nnation is heading for all-out moral destruction,\" announced NU
\nchairman Hasyim Muzadi after the gathering. However, how the
\ncommittee would work and in what field it would operate was not
\ndisclosed to the press.<\/p>\n
The vow was welcomed in many circles but was also criticized
\nby some others. Dr. Din Syamsuddin, one of the top leaders of
\nMuhammadiyah, the country's modernist organization, said the
\nmeeting itself was very positive and showed that there was
\nnational reconciliation. But he said that the statement saying
\nthat the nation is heading towards all-out moral destruction had
\nover-dramatized the real situation. Din said the statement could
\ncreate a deterioration of the real situation because it could
\nlead to a psychology of anxiety among the public.<\/p>\n
Many believe that the current moral decadence is a result of
\nthe destructive life under two dictators, presidents Sukarno and
\nSoeharto. Many parties and political leaders who supported
\nSukarno, survived and worked under Soeharto -- except those
\nbanned by the dictator in 1960. And supporters of Soeharto's New
\nOrder regime are still fooling around today as the executives had
\nbeen set aside but not completely ousted through a total
\nrevolution.<\/p>\n
Each of the two regimes had its own educational system, which
\nincluded a political system. Both despots monopolized the
\ninterpretation of the state ideology, called Pancasila, and the
\nindoctrination of all the people, from primary school to
\nuniversity, was similar to communist-style brain washing. They
\ndid not improve the mentality of the people but confused the
\npopulation.<\/p>\n
That is why, from 1959 until now, it has been very hard to
\nfind good examples from political leaders. Under Sukarno his
\nsupporters were free to do anything against the people as long as
\nthey supported his system -- the fanatical cooperation between
\nthe Nationalists, the Religious (Muslims) and the Communists --
\nwhich was a pillar of his Guided Democracy. And under Soeharto,
\ncorruption was not a breach of the people's trust as long as one
\nsupported his reelection every fifth year.<\/p>\n
Today the style is different. There is hardly any political
\nleader who sets a good example of moral responsibility. If he or
\nshe fails to carry out a job and then resigns, the problems he or
\nshe created are not necessarily solved by quitting.<\/p>\n
So, the minister of transportation is at peace despite a
\nseries of fatal train crashes recently. In the New Order regime,
\nvice president Try Sutrisno said resigning, as a way to express
\nmoral responsibility, was not the Indonesian way. That way is not
\nso clear however, because even in the 1940s, three-time prime
\nminister Sutan Sjahrir resigned to express such responsibility.<\/p>\n
Another example of the absence of responsibility can be seen
\nin the President's recent campaign of stressing that politicians
\nand civil servants lead a modest life. The campaign has only
\nmanaged to make some ministers change their clothes sometimes but
\nnot to change the view of the legislator's parking lot which
\nlooks like a car show for highly luxurious automobiles.<\/p>\n
And the moral decay has not affected only the politicians but
\nalso those who wield the banner of religion. A group of
\n\"religious people\" sent their followers into the streets of East
\nJava last year to set fire to churches and Muhammadiyah schools
\njust because their supreme leader in Jakarta was ousted by the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR). Political statements can be
\nan ironic comedy, sometimes.<\/p>",
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