Are we really independent?

Are we really independent?

Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Jakarta

"Are we really independent?" This sarcastic question is often
heard these days, not only from the people in the street but also
from almost all segments of society.

The country's dependence on foreign aid to cope with its
economic problem, the increase in the unemployment, the
degradation of the educational quality and the lack of law and
order are some of the many factors that have led the people to
think that we are still not fully independent.

Imam B. Prasojo, a noted sociologist at the University of
Indonesia, acknowledges that Indonesia is still far from being
independent, although Indonesia gained its political status as an
independent country when it proclaimed its Independence 58 years
ago.

"Currently, independence is too conventionally interpreted.
The first phase of independence has already passed, but the
second phase is still up and down," he said. "We should cry
together that there are still many of us do not have access to
basic needs."

Independence should not only be interpreted as being
free from imperialism, but also free from the shackles of lack of
access to education, health service, water, transportation and
communication, etc. Lack of access to basic needs has caused
Indonesia's human development index to rank at 112, much lower
than Vietnam.

Currently, thousands of schoolchildren in Purwakarta, Cisarua,
Poso, Maluku and Aceh, and other regions deal with problems of
quality and availability of educational facilities like buildings
and teachers.

"Hundreds of schools have collapsed or burnt down, while some
children cannot go to school due to geographical constraints,"
Imam said.

He emphasized the need for the country to focus on public
services instead of merely on economic growth. "We are successful
in recognizing individual goals, but fail in identifying
collective goals because there is no communal leadership that can
provide focus and inspire people to build a wide road to basic
needs.

"What is the meaning of independence if there are still so
many people unemployed, a high poverty rate and ongoing war in
Aceh," said Binny Buchori, executive secretary of the
International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (Infid).

She said that most of the country's policies were still
dictated by foreign institutions such as the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).

The policy on water privatization, for example, only caused
unequal access to water among citizens she said. "Does selling
state-owned companies guarantee the absence of corruption? What
about our responsibility of giving the public access to quality
services?"

The policy of zero percent tax on imported agricultural
products like sugar has also flooded the country with foreign
products.

"It does not mean I'm not in favor of the open market, but we
should take a different role in our relationship with the IMF.
Just like Thailand, we can revise policies that do not promote
social and economic justice," she said.

Furthermore, policies on debt and budget allocation
were required to be in line with the spirit of the Uinted
Nation's Millennium Development Goal to reduce poverty by half by
2015.

"How can we achieve that if our budget is allocated toward
paying foreign and domestic creditors? We have to stop this if we
want to be independent.

"In the Consultative Group on Indonesia, we should be the
leader, not the World Bank," Binny said, adding that Indonesia
should be confident as a sovereign country to join others in
strengthening the G-24 and UNCTAD, and challenging international
monetary policies at the World Trade Organization, World Bank and
the IMF.

Being an independent country also means that it should be able
to provide security guarantee to its citizens. Denny J.A.,
political analyst and researcher at the Indonesian Survey
Institute, said that independence would be meaningless if the
citizens did not get their primary right: feeling safe.

"People prefer being poor but secure, rather than being
wealthy and living under life-threatening conditions," he said.

To ensure that the people really feel that they are truly
independent, improving security and order should be the
government's first priority, he said.

The first thing the government can do is to revise its
Antiterrorism Law, and give more leeway for security authorities
to get rid of terror threats and hand down firmer punishments to
culprits, Denny said.

"Compared to our neighboring country Singapore, our law in
handling terrorism is too lenient," he said.