Symptoms vs cause?<\/p>\n
The kind of reactions to the small but growing calls for
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz to
\nstep down in the wake of the increases in utility prices, is a
\nclassic example of people mistaking the symptoms for the cause of
\nthe disease. Like poorly trained doctors, they are more likely to
\nprescribe medicines to treat the symptoms, but not to cure the
\ndisease.<\/p>\n
The government, as echoed by Coordinating Minister for
\nPolitical Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, viewed the demands
\nfor the president and vice president to resign as
\nunconstitutional. He vowed harsh measures in response to anyone
\ntrying to topple the current administration. Susilo also warned
\npolitical parties against piggy-backing on people who were
\nprotesting the price hikes for their own political goals.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI), which remains a powerful
\ninstitution in spite of its phased withdrawal from formal
\npolitics, has also cautioned against any unconstitutional moves
\nto unseat the present leadership.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien
\nRais, whose own National Mandate Party (PAN) is entertaining the
\nidea of replacing the current government, stated that the 1945
\nConstitution no longer included a provision for the MPR, the
\nhighest state institution, to impeach the president following the
\nlatest series of amendments in August. Megawati, we may recall,
\nbecame president after the MPR, under Amien, impeached then-
\npresident Abdurrahman Wahid in July 2001 for incompetence.<\/p>\n
Under the constitution, only the House of Representatives
\n(DPR) can impeach the president, but the move must be approved by
\nthe Constitutional Court, which has not been established to this
\nday. So, both Megawati and Hamzah can take comfort in knowing
\nthat their positions are, at least constitutionally, safe.<\/p>\n
Others have also made very compelling arguments that the last
\nthing Indonesia needs is another change in government, whether
\nthe process is constitutional or not. An impeachment process
\nwould sow more instability and destroy what little confidence the
\ndomestic and international public still have in the ability of
\nany government to manage the nation.<\/p>\n
There are also fears that if there were to be a second
\nimpeachment, there would then be a third, thus turning Indonesia
\ninto a banana republic of the kind found in Latin America during
\nthe '70s. We would be lucky if we even get to the fourth
\nimpeachment, because in all likelihood, this nation would break
\nup before such a thing happens: Indonesia as we know it today
\nwould no longer exist, replaced by smaller states instead.<\/p>\n
If all these warnings have failed to stop the anti-government
\nprotests -- the protests are growing louder by the day -- it is
\nbecause just about everyone has been looking at the demand for a
\nchange in government from the wrong angle: Susilo is viewing the
\ndemand from the perspective of his government's fate; Amien, of
\nconstitutionality; the military, of a possible threat to
\nsecurity; and outside observers, from the perspective of the
\nnational destruction that an impeachment might inflict.<\/p>\n
No one has yet bothered to look at the main reason the demands
\nfor a change in government are growing louder. No one has taken
\nthe trouble to ask the demonstrators, the students and the
\nworkers who brave the scorching sun and the drenching rain, why
\ntheir initial protests opposing the price hikes has increasingly
\nturned into demands for a change in government.<\/p>\n
As harsh as the latest round of simultaneous price hikes may
\nseem, this nation has gone through much worse in the past. The
\nincreases, in themselves, would not have been enough to cause
\nsuch a public outrage. Coming after a series of controversial
\ndecisions that have been deemed unfair and unjust, it is easy to
\nsee why the protests against prices hikes have, in many cases
\nnow, turned into outright protests against government. The
\npresent state of the economy, with jobs being lost and no new
\nones being created, has further fueled this public anger.<\/p>\n
The street demonstrations that we have seen in many parts of
\nthe country these last two weeks were expressions of a
\ndiscontented people. They reflect the disillusionment prevalent
\namong the people about the poor performance, or lack thereof, of
\nthe government -- both the executive and legislative branches --
\nin defending and protecting their interests. They reflect a
\nnation that is feeling restless at the unfairness and injustices
\nthat they find today under the present government.<\/p>\n
How else can we explain the odd alliance between workers and
\nemployers in some of the demonstrations, and the gathering of
\nworkers, students and housewives in others? If these groups have
\ndecided to take to the streets, this can only mean that the
\ncurrent political mechanisms, including the means of political
\ncommunications in this country, have failed them.<\/p>\n
How do we deal with this situation? Clearly, not by treating
\nthe symptoms, but by curing the real disease; that is, by showing
\ngreater wisdom and by creating policies that are fair and just,
\nnot those that only benefit a single group of society.<\/p>\n
The government can still salvage the situation because deep
\ndown, most people in this country also agree that the last thing
\nthey want or need is to go through another period of political
\ninstability and economic crisis.<\/p>\n
But the government better hurry before the disease turns
\ncancerous. If this happened, then we would definitely need a
\nmajor surgical operation to remove the cancer, and would suffer
\nthe severe pain that comes with it, as with the subsequent
\nrecovery period.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/symptoms-vs-cause-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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