Wise leader has emerged<\/p>\n
Twenty-five years ago, unofficially exiled Indonesian students
\nstarted gathering in capital cities all over Asia. They talked
\nand dreamed of a democratic, free and fair homeland, one where
\nleaders were elected and income fairly distributed. Obviously,
\none without Soeharto and his gluttonous clan. Well, he's almost
\ngone, but the fight is far from over.<\/p>\n
To succeed, you may all need the patience of those students,
\nwho, no doubt, are in the thick of reform today. Great damage has
\nbeen done by a very few individuals. Regrettably, the damage has
\nembittered many, if not most, of you. Those students knew, though
\nthey didn't know his name, that a leader of great tact and wisdom
\nwould be needed to lead your extraordinary, diverse nation out of
\nthe "wilderness". That man has come, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid,
\nand he can realize the dreams of every one of you, if you all
\nsupport his mandate and believe in his loving wisdom.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur's tireless efforts have greatly restored the financial
\nworld's confidence, an essential in today's realities, if you are
\nto regain sustainable prosperity. Though your righteous anger is
\njustified, it is only by turning your backs on revenge, and
\nconverting that energy into positive productivity that you can
\nrebuild your communities and heal the wounds inflicted by the
\ngreed and lust for power of a few evil men.<\/p>\n
There seems to be many who no longer see Sukarno's vision of a
\ngreat Indonesian nation, though, in truth, it's the belief that
\nsuch a vision can be equitably achieved that has waned rather
\nthan the desire for nationhood. Broadly speaking, the two vastly
\ndifferent groups, who, for totally different reasons, may think
\nto question the wisdom and leadership of Gus Dur are the
\nIndonesian Military and the independence movements.<\/p>\n
Despite being, quite literally, in opposition to each other,
\nboth groups are wrong in their methodology; violence always
\nbegets violence. Now, it is fair to say that the initial use of
\nforce was by the Army, and look what that's achieved so far: A
\nmajor province utterly destroyed and amputated, armed resistance
\ngroups in nearly every province, violence on almost every front.<\/p>\n
To imagine that anyone will profit from setting the nation on
\nfire is foolish to the extreme. Without removing every satellite
\ndish, confiscating every radio and disconnecting every telephone
\nline, a complete impossibility, as the Yugoslavic and Chehnyan
\nconflicts have demonstrated, the truth can no longer be
\ncontained. The only guaranteed outcome of defiance and disloyalty
\nto the duly elected President of your nation is more violence and
\ninternational condemnation. A pariah-state, devalued, unaided
\nand, soon, a nation undone.<\/p>\n
Before all you separatists start cheering, give some thought
\nto the old and very wise saying, "In unity there is strength,"
\nand not just in security matters either. Competitiveness, access
\nto markets and a stable currency are essentials to 21st century
\nsocieties, without them, membership of the world community is all
\nbut impossible. All are greatly facilitated by nationhood and
\nvery marginalized in small, independent countries. That may not
\nseem to matter in an oil-rich province, however, without a
\ncredible defense force, (there goes all the profits folks), there
\nis no way of protecting your God-given assets from greedy
\nneighbors. That's why the national concept was conceived, but,
\nsadly, the grand vision was sacrificed to greed. Gus Dur's
\nemergence can change all that, if he is listened to and given
\nloyalty, but it will take time to accomplish.<\/p>\n
A whole new and equitable mind-set must be developed, not
\nsimply new laws, given the traditional "above the law" attitudes
\nof central and provincial administrators, for the past half
\ncentury.<\/p>\n
ROBERT JAMES-HERBERT<\/p>\n
Eumundi, Queensland<\/p>\n
Australia<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wise-leader-has-emerged-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }