Capitalism blamed for undermining Soeharto
Capitalism blamed for undermining Soeharto
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's expanding capitalist society is undermining the New Order government under President Soeharto, who vigorously promotes the free market as a tool for development, a sociologist said yesterday.
"It's wrong to assume that the most subversive force is communism, religious fundamentalism, student activism or non- governmental organizations," Ariel Heryanto said during a one-day seminar organized by the Indonesian Islamic University.
Ariel, a teacher at the Satya Wacana Christian University in the Central Java town of Salatiga, is the latest to raise concerns over the concentration of capital in a few groups in Indonesia.
It is understood that Indonesians of Chinese descent, who comprise less than five percent of Indonesia's 195 million people, dominate the country's economy.
Ariel noted that over the past 15 years, more indigenous people have been emerging as capitalists. The new development, he argued, has lessened anti-Chinese sentiment.
"Nevertheless, it does not mean that ethnic tension in Indonesia has come to an end."
He noted that Indonesia has lately witnessed what he called "racial harmony" among indigenous and non-indigenous business tycoons.
Unfortunately, while the ethnic tension is easing, he said, discontented laborers are emerging as a new destabilizing force. They are gaining strength and will be more powerful than middle class pressure groups soon, Ariel believes.
"The prime cause of the swelling radical labor movement is the rigorous capitalism in Indonesia," he said.
Meanwhile, Nazaruddin Syamsudin, a political observer from Jakarta's University of Indonesia, said Indonesia needs political stability to develop democracy.
As stability is a prerequisite for the development of democracy, it is only natural that the state imposes restrictions on political practices.
According to Nazaruddin, economic development should come before democracy. "Democracy in Indonesia is dictated by the success of our economic development," he noted.
"Nor is democracy implanted by international pressure because nothing can be imposed on a country where the basic values do not allow it to grow," he said.
"Economic development is a prerequisite for democracy and political development as a whole," he said. (har/pan)