More autonomy 'key to keeping nation united'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Scholars provided on Tuesday different
\nexplanations about what constitutes the threat of national
\ndisintegration, but agreed that more autonomy for regions would
\nbe among the best measures to keep the nation unified.<\/p>\n
Moslem scholar Nurcholish Madjid said that what some analysts
\nconsidered recent signs of disintegration were actually the
\nventing of people's participation in social and political life.<\/p>\n
\"The way to deal with the 'explosive' participation is to
\naccommodate it. Look at Aceh... or Irian Jaya,\" he said at a
\ngathering of student activists from 44 universities across the
\ncountry. \"Their natural resources have been exploited 'dry', then
\npeople suggested (that Indonesia be changed from a unitary state)
\ninto a federal state.\"<\/p>\n
\"It's not a problem of a unitary or federal state. The most
\nimportant thing is to give (the provinces) greater autonomy.\"<\/p>\n
He said Indonesia was designed at its founding in 1945 to
\nbecome a modern nation state which was open and egalitarian.<\/p>\n
\"This country lacks nation-building values,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The late president Sukarno had a deep sense of nation
\nbuilding, but he derived it from books, so became a romantic. As
\na result, we had to go through 20 years of trial and error before
\nwe found the right model of a modern state.\"<\/p>\n
He believed former president Soeharto did not possess the same
\ntrait but was extremely intelligent. However, his lack of the
\nsense of nation building contributed to his many blind spots and
\nthe blunders he made, including letting his children interfere in
\nhis job. \"This would not have happened if he had a strong sense
\nof nation building...,\" Nurcholish said.<\/p>\n
One way to ward off the danger of disintegration, he said,
\nwould be to give provinces more opportunities to develop.<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice Muladi, who was also a professor in law,
\nrejected calls that the country change from a unitary to federal
\nstate. Much homework needed to be done for the country to improve
\nits \"unity\", he acknowledged.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has so far failed to eliminate primordialism, there
\nis the tendency to view the Constitution as almost sacred and
\nabove change and the government deals with problems in regions in
\na fragmented manner, Muladi said.<\/p>\n
He also identified centralization of power and violations of
\nhuman rights as other problems.<\/p>\n
\"We have failed, for instance, in integration which is
\nhorizontal in nature. Many people still see their brethren from
\noutside of (the more developed) Java as stupid.\"<\/p>\n
President B.J. Habibie's economic advisor Frans Seda also said
\nthat a unitary state was the best format for the country in
\nfacing the impact of globalization.<\/p>\n
\"Even the European countries want to unite themselves. Why
\nwould we go and break ourselves up?\"<\/p>\n
The student gathering, opened by Minister of Education Juwono
\nSudarsono, is scheduled to end on Wednesday. Student participants
\nhad the opportunity to meet not only their seniors, but also
\ngovernment officials they have criticized in various
\ndemonstrations. They met with Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto
\nand questioned him about the Armed Forces (ABRI) dual-function
\ndoctrine, which endorses its roles in both security and political
\naffairs. (edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/more-autonomy-key-to-keeping-nation-united-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}