Revolution or war?<\/p>\n
Two extraordinary reports appeared in this newspaper, on
\nits National page last week. The first contained a strong warning
\ncoming from respected Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid that only
\nwar and revolution to restore the reform movement could rescue
\nIndonesia from bankruptcy. The second concerned the House of
\nRepresentatives, which during the entire August and September
\nperiod was able to deal with only two of 30 draft bills tabled
\nfor deliberation.<\/p>\n
It has become somewhat commonplace for many Indonesians to
\nhear warnings that their country is close to becoming a failed
\nstate -- so common that they no longer take them seriously.
\nHowever, when respected personalities such as Nurcholish Madjid,
\nMuhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif and Catholic priest Franz
\nMagnis-Suseno alert the nation, as they did during a seminar in
\nYogyakarta last week that the country's extinction was only a
\nmatter of time, we had better take notice.<\/p>\n
In Nurcholish' words, only war and revolution to restore the
\nreform movement could rescue the nation from bankruptcy. It is
\nnot difficult to follow his reasoning. The country is at the top
\nof the list of the world's most corrupt nations, while acts of
\nviolence and terrorism are on the rise.<\/p>\n
Undeniably, the legislature is most energetic in criticizing
\nthe government, which of course is one of its most important
\nmissions. But it often seems to be overdoing this criticism in
\ncarrying out its legislative duties. Take, for example, the case
\nof the purchase of the Russian Sukhoi jet fighters. Legislators
\nthat were initially so noisy in blaming President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri for the deal have suddenly pretended to have
\nforgotten their own threats to investigate the matter in the
\nfirst place. The question that many people are asking is, why?<\/p>\n
There is a growing perception among the public that corruption
\nand abuse of power among legislators, both at a national and
\nregional level, is probably no less rampant than what is
\nallegedly committed within the executive branch. At least, in the
\npublic's view, our legislators show their enthusiasm only in
\npassing \"lucrative\" bills because of the big incentives that they
\nallegedly stand to receive. Worse, the House is led by Akbar
\nTandjung, who has a court conviction hanging over his head for
\ncorruption. With such poor credibility, what can we expect from
\nthe House?<\/p>\n
The major political parties, which are busy accumulating the
\nassets they need to finance next year's general election
\ncampaigns, have no time to think about acceleration of the reform
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Megawati is busy complaining that the public
\ndoes not appreciate the hard work she is doing, apparently
\nforgetting that her achievement in creating political stability
\nis due more to her inability to eradicate corruption, terminate
\nabuses of human rights and let corruptors continue to have a free
\nhand, rather than her own initiative. Despite Soeharto's downfall
\nfive years ago, the system that he created during his 32-year
\nrule effectively remains intact, while corruption has worsened.<\/p>\n
It is difficult, therefore, to escape the conclusion that the
\npessimistic views of the scholars mentioned above are based on
\nfactual observation. But what can we do? We cannot wait for
\nmiracles to occur. The nation must act quickly if it wants to
\nimprove its standing among the civilized nations of the world.<\/p>\n
When we look back on the process of Soeharto's downfall in
\n1998, we can see that the driving force behind the people's
\ndesire to oust the five-star general at the time was not the
\npeople who are now in top political positions. It was university
\nstudents and academics who risked their lives to fight for the
\ncountry's democracy.<\/p>\n
Before Soeharto's downfall, many of us may have been upset at
\nstudents' noisy street demonstrations. At that time, it was
\nunthinkable to many that Soeharto could lose his grip on power
\nmerely because of some student movements. When Soeharto finally
\ndid quit, the role of the students was often belittled by those
\nwho thought their role much greater than that of the young
\nactivists.<\/p>\n
We truly appreciate the initiative taken by Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity to hold a seminar in Yogyakarta last week. Within that
\ncontext we hope that the university can and will revive the
\nUniversity Rectors Forum, which was also instrumental in ending
\nSoeharto's rule. We need the voice of the campuses to restore the
\nreform movement because of its high moral integrity. As things
\nare at present, the reform movement is effectively dead, both in
\neconomic and political terms.<\/p>\n
The people have abandoned trust and hope in the major
\npolitical parties and their leaders. Still, our expectations from
\nthe university campuses and from those who have the capability to
\nsave the nation from yet another disaster, remain high. We are
\nconfident that our society is ready to contribute to efforts to
\nrestore the reform movement.<\/p>",
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