1997: A horrible year for Indonesia

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.