1997: A horrible year for Indonesia

By Santi W.E. Soekanto

JAKARTA (JP): The year 1997 has not been a pleasant one for Indonesia. In fact, for many people, it has been downright horrible -- socially, economically and politically.

It opened with the bitter aftertaste of 1996, a year when riots and violence flared in some regions, including West Kalimantan and East Java, leaving trails of death and destruction. Even now, hundreds of deaths in Sanggau Ledo and the neighboring regencies of West Kalimantan, are still unaccounted for.

Halfway through the year, a political heating up brought about by the general election seared the nation. The so-called fiesta of democracy pitted one political organization against another; causing the most pain, however, to grassroot supporters of the contestants. Among them, probably, were the 123 people who were trapped and burned to death in May in a building blaze in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.

It was at about this time that experts started to sound off alarms, expressing their fear of impending disintegration caused by political friction sown on a soil already ripe with conflicts caused by social and economic gaps.

The year approached its end with an economic turmoil made worse by rumors about President Soeharto's ailing health and an uncertainty over the country's future.

Will Soeharto be able to lead the nation for another term? If he's not able, someone will have to fill his place, but who is this someone? Why are the political parties dragging their feet and hesitating to name their candidates for the vice presidency? Who will be the next vice president, the person to step in and assume the nation's leadership should the President be incapacitated?

Rumors about Soeharto's health had actually started earlier in the year, forcing the government to blast the irresponsible parties involved. In recent months, however, the rumors became even more forceful because they coincided with a dip in Indonesian economy.

Out of great concern over the adverse impacts of such a political obscurity on people's social, economic and political lives, some people have suggested that Golkar step in, name its vice presidential candidate and be done with it. By naming a potential successor, Indonesia's future will be clearer, they argued.

Not that the call has gotten any response so far, from Golkar or the Armed Forces or the two other political parties -- the United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party.

Officials and party executives said that to do so would not be constitutional. There could be, of course, another reason; they were probably wary of too great a political risk should they name a person whom Soeharto would not accept.

So far, Soeharto has kept his preference close to his chest -- he would never name anyone now. He would, instead, wait until he was reelected during the People's Consultative Assembly meeting next March. The interesting thing is, he would be the sole man to decide who will occupy the second-top post because he no longer has a special team to assist him in choosing the vice president, as he had in past elections.

Therefore, this year is closing with a great uncertainty, politically and economically. Not many people know how Indonesia will fare next year.

SARA

There have certainly been lots of saving graces which have helped the public to see not just the bleakest side of this year's social affairs scene. There is the sweet memory of when Indonesia's population officially reached 200 million, with the birth of a baby boy on February 4 in West Nusa Tenggara. President Soeharto named him Wahyu Nusantara Aji.

But the saying that people remember the pain more than the joy is probably true. The fear of polarizing forces -- known in Indonesian as SARA, an acronym standing for suku (tribal affiliations), agama (religion), ras (race) and antar golongan (societal groups) -- highlighted the pain.

About one month after an ethnic clash erupted between migrant Madurese and the native Dayak tribes in Sanggau Ledo and neighboring regencies in West Kalimantan, President Soeharto decreed the establishment of alert command posts at local military authority levels across the country.

Their job was to detect signs of unrest and nip them in the bud. As it turned out, however, riots still flared in many parts of Indonesia afterward, and by the end of the year, not many people remember that there are such command posts.

There was a riot in January in Rengasdengklok, West Java, over something that appeared trivial -- a woman of Chinese descent was ired because of the noises made by a group of youths waking up local Moslems to have their sahur (predawn meal) before fasting.

This was followed by more unrest before the general election in May in some West Java, Central Java and East Java cities, as well as in West Kalimantan. Jakarta, too, witnessed riots related to the general election.

Shortly after the general election, President Soeharto called on Indonesian intellectuals on June 2 to study the election- related riots and determine what was behind them.

So far, there has been no formal response, except for individual scholars testing their theories and trying to help people make sense of the situation.

Sociologist Loekman Soetrisno said that Indonesia was facing a real threat of disintegration, not so much because of its diversity, but more because of poor development policies and social and economic gaps.

Regarding the riot in Banjarmasin, which killed 123 people, the National Commission on Human Rights said it was triggered not by religious or ethnic issues but by the uncontrollable election campaigning.

This means that even now, there is no explanation as to why there were such large-scale incidents of unrest, which caused the loss of hundreds of lives and many facilities.

Famine

Indonesians are known for their tendency to use euphemisms rather than speak the truth. This may be caused by the good intention to soften a blow, a misplaced sense of shame, or there could be political motives behind the habit.

This euphemism was probably the reason why it took days for the media to report that there was a famine in some remote areas of Indonesia, including Irian Jaya and Maluku. As at the end of this year, almost 700 people in the two provinces have died from drought-related illnesses and malnutrition. Even now, relief efforts are still continuing, aided by some friendly countries.

The year will also be remembered for the prolonged dry season and forest fires that we blamed on the abnormal weather pattern El Nio, which is affecting Indonesia and neighboring countries.

Relief came in late November, when the rainy season started and chased away the thick smog that had been hanging over many parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra. But those suffering from food shortage in Maluku and Irian Jaya are yet to feel relief.

Accountability

It was interesting to watch how government officials reacted to various tragedies.

When Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo stood up and said he was to blame for the fires that ravaged thousands of hectares of fires, it did not stop the fires. But it certainly warmed one's heart to see a brave admission of guilt, and it certainly chilled one's heart that not all officials took the same stance.

The year closes with no officials coming forward to assume responsibility for many of the misfortunes affecting the country: For the thousands of illegal Indonesian workers abroad who lost their jobs and had to be brought home, an operation costing billions of rupiah; for the famine that struck Irian Jaya and Maluku and killed hundreds of people; for the unrest and violence that have helped make this year a horrible one.