Catching up with others

Whether we like it or not, a country such as ours, Indonesia, must make greater efforts to catch up with others. We must think more seriously about how to step up our national development efforts to improve cohesion, solidarity and the spirit of nationalism among us.

One of the big problems we must confront, and surmount, is the tendency for soft living, as defined by Gunnar Myrdal in his description of soft and strong nations. The criteria by which the notions of soft and strong are measured include discipline, capability of hard work and study, incorruptibility, disinclination towards collusion and putting the nation's interests before that of the group or individual.

In an informal discussion among scholars and observers with an interest in Indonesia, held not long ago at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the conclusion was drawn that, if leaks could be prevented and inappropriate economic policies controlled, Indonesia's economic growth rate would be over 10 percent rather than between seven and nine percent.

Challenges, which come from the outside, should be used to foster a national life that is not hampered by narrow-mindedness and divisions caused by ignorance.

-- Kompas