Scholars accuse officials of 'living in denial'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Two leading scholars have blasted government
\nofficials for "burying their heads in the sand" and living in
\ndenial when faced with crises.<\/p>\n
Sociologist Loekman Soetrisno of Gadjah Mada University in
\nYogyakarta and Abdurrahman Wahid of the Moslem organization
\nNahdlatul Ulama (NU) said the habit failed to solve problems.<\/p>\n
"Such an attitude does not bode well for us as a nation,"
\nLoekman told The Jakarta Post yesterday.<\/p>\n
Loekman cited as an example the way some officials treat the
\nmonetary crisis.<\/p>\n
"We had been claiming that the fundamentals of our economy
\nwere strong when in fact they were not," he said. "This habit of
\ndenial is demonstrated not just by officials but by us as a
\nnation."<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, said officials refused
\nto face up to reality and even tended to cover it up.<\/p>\n
"This is a mistake and it does not solve any problems wrought
\nby the present crisis," he was quoted by Antara as saying in an
\naddress to hundreds of people joining the Friday prayer at
\nTakhobbar Mosque in Surabaya, East Java.<\/p>\n
"When facing a crisis, we behave like an ostrich... we
\npretend there's no problem... we bury our heads in the sand."<\/p>\n
The food crisis affecting many areas of Indonesia is another
\nproblem that has been dismissed by government officials, he said.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman fell short of naming officials or famine-stricken
\nareas, but it has been reported that almost 700 people have died
\nof drought-related illnesses and food shortage in Irian Jaya,
\nwhile tens of thousands of others face the same threat in Maluku.<\/p>\n
Both men argued that, on occasions, local officials in the
\naffected areas had also denied there was a problem. Some of them
\nclaimed that their districts did not suffer from food shortages
\nand supply was in abundance, but people became sick or died
\nbecause they could not afford to buy food.<\/p>\n
A number of countries, including the United States, Japan,
\nAustralia, Germany and Norway have been sending relief to
\ndrought-stricken areas in Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
According to Abdurrahman, some government officials in areas
\nsuffering from food shortages were baffled by the crisis and have
\nbeen unable to cope.<\/p>\n
"But it was a very strange thing when they stopped the
\nincoming foreign relief ... it's as if they were too scared to
\nhave people discover that there had been famine in their areas,"
\nhe was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that officials should, instead, use common
\nsense and investigate what had caused the food crisis. He named
\nforest fires and the prolonged dry season as being among the
\ncauses.<\/p>\n
"When facing that kind of problem, we must not pretend that we
\nknow everything when in fact we're confused. We need to work
\ntogether to face the crisis," Abdurrahman said.<\/p>\n
During his address, he also called on Moslems -- who make up
\n87 percent of the total population of 200 million -- across the
\ncountry not to panic in the face of possible food crisis in the
\nnext few months.<\/p>\n
The imminent threat of food shortage must be overcome together
\nwith "a strong will, patience and diligence" as taught in Islam,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman suggested that one of the measures to cope with
\nthe crisis was for people with surplus food to share it with
\nthose in need. (aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/scholars-accuse-officials-of-living-in-denial-1447893297",
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