Wake up, Indonesia: Face the bitter reality<\/p>\n
Abdillah Toha, Executive Director, Institute for Socio-Economic
\nand Political Studies (IN-SEP), Jakarta<\/p>\n
We are now in the second year of a new and turbulent century.
\nThe year 2001, more so in the last quarter, has seen dramatic
\ndevelopments that changed the way we perceive things in the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
The battle of Afghanistan is nearing its end but the American
\nappetite, to take unilateral military action in other parts of
\nthe world suspected of harboring terrorists, has not ceased.
\nWhile the new Afghan administration is being installed, the U.S.-
\nled campaign is now directed toward hunting down Osama bin Laden,
\nwho seems to have eluded the hunters.<\/p>\n
Europe, having launched a common monetary unit, is engaged in
\na debate on what should be the right format for a future Europe.
\nA federation or a union of national states?<\/p>\n
India and Pakistan are confronting each other on their common
\nborder in Kashmir, bringing the world to the brink of a nuclear
\ncontest.<\/p>\n
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) once again failed to
\nsave its patient, and Argentina's economy, which is not
\ndissimilar to Indonesia's, collapsed. Her government decided
\nofficially to default on its foreign debts.<\/p>\n
Israel took unilateral and arbitrary military action in
\nPalestine, arresting "militant dissidents", isolating its leader
\nYasser Arafat, and hence diminished the prospects for peace in
\nthis most sensitive part of the world.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the large economies of the world, in America,
\nEurope and Japan, continued to slide downward in a recession that
\nalready has and will have wide impact on the rest of the planet.<\/p>\n
While these dramatic changes took place with worrisome
\nrepercussions for the future, sadly enough, Indonesia seems to be
\nmore concerned with inconsequential matters that have haunted us
\nin the last four years.<\/p>\n
The print and electronic mass media seem to be more interested
\nin the predicament of former president Soeharto and the fate of
\nhis troublesome heir, Tommy.<\/p>\n
Instead of focusing our attention on the bigger issues facing
\nus in the coming year, the media, as well as our government and
\npoliticians, are debating endlessly on what to do with Soeharto.
\nDaily we were presented in the local newspapers and TV with
\nhourly bulletins on Soeharto's health, as if the world might come
\nto an end if the former dictator died.<\/p>\n
Ministers, legislators and observers are busy giving
\nconflicting opinions on whether to pardon the former dictator or
\nbring him to justice.<\/p>\n
We were also presented with boring pictures of Tommy Soeharto
\ngrinning to viewers, flanked by the Jakarta Metropolitan police
\nwho seemed to have nothing better to do than take care of him.<\/p>\n
In another mind-blowing development recently, the idea has
\nbeen mooted by the management of the accident-prone Indonesian
\nRailway Company (PT KAI) that the train that recently collided
\nand killed, as well as critically injured, scores of people
\nshould be given a new and luckier name to avoid future accidents.<\/p>\n
Have we all lost our balance and forgotten that there are more
\nimportant things that need our immediate attention? Can we no
\nlonger think straight and rationally?<\/p>\n
It's time to wake up, Indonesia! Until when should we busy
\nourselves and waste our energy on matters that could have been
\nsolved a long time ago? We have been in a continuous crisis for
\nfive years now, without seeming to be able to escape the web.<\/p>\n
If South Korea could drag two of its ex-presidents to court,
\nThailand brought its newly appointed prime minister before a
\ncourt of justice, and our neighbor the Philippines jailed its
\nformer president without much fanfare, why can't we make up our
\nmind? Are we a nation of cowards or are there other motives
\nbehind the rhetoric of our leaders?<\/p>\n
Enough is enough. The government and its agencies should make
\nup their mind once and for all to take Soeharto and his cronies
\nto court and leave the entire process to the justice system, and
\nthen free itself to manage the country properly without being
\ndistracted by such a sideshow.<\/p>\n
Our legislators should focus their attention on initiating new
\nlaws that are badly needed to improve our legal system and
\ninstitutions. The mass media should present facts and independent
\nanalysis on the progress and deviations of government. And our
\npolitical and economic observers should air only views to those
\nmatters that are the concern of a public that has yet to be
\nlifted from its suffering.<\/p>\n
The year 2002 poses an even greater challenge to us. The
\npolitical, security, military and economic map of the world is
\nchanging very rapidly. The Sept. 11 attacks on New York and
\nWashington have created an entirely different, yet monolithic
\ninterpretation of international relations, led by the United
\nStates and its European allies, which are becoming increasingly
\nunilateral in their global approach.<\/p>\n
We cannot stand still and simply spectate. We should make
\naccurate predictions on the global geopolitical and economic
\nscene impacting us next year and design a proper strategy to
\nconfront possible threats. We should look very carefully at
\nvarious political and economic scenarios and determine what
\nscenario will most likely prevail.<\/p>\n
We ought to improve our intelligence-gathering, both
\nnationally and globally, to prevent unforeseen surprises. We need
\nto change the style of our national leadership so as to motivate
\nand inspire our people more.<\/p>\n
We should put our priorities straight and deal with them one
\nby one in a businesslike way. We need to know where we are going.
\nWe will have to make certain that our economy will not collapse,
\nas happened in Argentina. We should avoid placing additional
\nburdens on ordinary people solely to maintain our reputation as a
\n"good boy" in the eyes of the IMF, lest we face again the wrath
\nof the people.<\/p>\n
The global economic, security and political facts in the last
\nquarter of this year clearly point to unwarranted developments.
\nAdded to this are economic indicators in our own backyard that
\nseem to be continuously disheartening.<\/p>\n
These are: a high unemployment rate that is comparable to none
\nin the modern world, a huge public debt that might become a
\ntime bomb, a fiscal condition that is incapable of stimulating
\nthe economy, unending corruption in almost all spheres of
\ngovernment, potentially violent ethnic and separatist outbreaks
\nin some regions, the absence of much-needed foreign capital
\ninflow in the form of foreign direct investment, the
\nvulnerability of our currency and the inability of Bank Indonesia
\nto lower interest rates.<\/p>\n
There is a further long list of problems that could not be
\nspecified here without taking up too much space, related to
\npublic services, health, education, corporate governance,
\nregional autonomy, privatization and so on.<\/p>\n
For better or worse, 2002 will be a turning point for the
\nworld and for us in Indonesia. Either the world will become a
\nbetter place to live, or the careless military adventurism that
\nis being indulged in by the West might bring us closer to
\ncataclysm and more suffering of mankind.<\/p>\n
We in Indonesia should just as well be prepared for all
\npossibilities. We should do away with wishful thinking. We should
\nmobilize our energy and thoughts, minimize political bickering
\nand agree on a national strategy that will take us away from our
\nclosetful of problems.<\/p>\n
Or at least we should endeavor to come out triumphant and
\nresilient against unpleasant developments that are likely in the
\nglobal scene. Time is not on our side. May the New Year open our
\nhearts and minds to clearer thinking in solving our national
\nproblems.<\/p>",
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