Challenges to national unity (2)

Challenges to national unity (2)

This is the second of two articles based on a paper presented
by the Deputy Governor of the defense college at the National
Resilience Institute (Lemhanas), Juwono Sudarsono, at the
Indonesian Executive Circle on March 29, 1995.

JAKARTA (JP): Many Indonesians recognize that the policies of
the past, which emphasized centralized decision making, a firm
hand in matters affecting political stability and close
supervision of the media, must give way to phased
decentralization and regional autonomy.

Central authority in decision making and in allocating funds
for development through special sectoral programs (Inpres,
presidential directives) must give way to more comprehensive
packages to empower village, regency and provincial
administrations, whether it be for the alleviation of poverty in
deprived villages, the reinvigoration of rural markets, the
commitment to forest conservation or the provision of primary
health care.

Depending on local conditions, traditional patterns of center-
periphery relations will have to be replaced by improved revenue
sharing, measured devolution linked to comprehensive nationwide
infrastructure development in the electricity, road, harbor,
airport and telecommunication sectors.

Culturally, the Indonesian language, literature and the arts
-- including traditional, local and provincial expressions --
will have to flourish if they are to play vital roles as
essential cultural impulses in sustaining Indonesia's sense of
identity in the face of increased commercialism. The Indonesian
print and broadcast media industry must show more commitment in
order to enhance its role as surveyor of quality information,
rather than letting its business enterprises flourish, while
flaunting consumerism on behalf of market driven forces.

As recent security sweeps in Jakarta and other cities have
indicated, there is an urgent need to enlarge opportunities for
employment, reduce crime, rebuild networks of civic engagement
and institutionalize communal responsibility. In restive urban
environments, dense networks of interaction can establish a civic
sense of self, balancing the "I" and the "We" into collective
benefits. As differing ethnic and religious communities are
affected by economic loss and gains in varying degrees of
intensity these efforts will face severe tests.

The longing for community and security in a globalized world
means that national leaders, provincial bureaucrats and village
heads must be confident and flexible enough to accommodate
occasional regional, ethnic and religious affirmations since
these basic impulses often constitute important cultural bearings
to help the populace comprehend accelerated change. As members of
a multi-cultural nation enriched through the synthesis of
external influences, the vast majority of our Islamic leaders
believe in the positive fusion of the world's diverse
civilizations rather than in the inevitability of their clashes.

There will be continued debate on the appropriate degree of
the political role of the Indonesian Armed Forces, though its
central role in the political life of the nation will persist
long after civilian politicians improve their patterns of
leadership recruitment and organizational discipline. It will
take at least another 10 to 15 years before a full fledged civil
society (as distinct from civilian politics) will be energetic
and organized enough to hold the country together and continue to
move it forward towards sustainable development.

As Indonesian society and economy become more complex and
specialized, many of the technical and managerial roles, which in
the past had been undertaken by professionals with a military
background, will gradually devolve to civilian managers. Young
professionals in the airline, shipping, banking, manufacturing,
tourism, service industries and agribusiness take Indonesia's
unity and cohesion for granted. Inevitably, they will continue to
demand greater participation in political and economic decision
making based on merit and managerial competence.

Indonesians are concerned that intense regionalization and
globalization can inflame fragmentation within regions, as well
as within nation-states, ethnic animosity, racial antagonism,
religious exclusiveness and narrow provincialism. These tensions,
if linked to the control and distribution over marketable
resources and strategic minerals, can lead to the rekindling of
mutual suspicion, outbreaks of violence and outright killings of
innocent people in civil war. That is why Indonesians remain
convinced that whatever the scope and intensity of global change,
government intervention and the regulatory structures of the
nation-state remain indispensable authority templates to
accommodate and resolve differing priorities among contending
groups.

Over the past 20 years the government has kept military
expenditure deliberately low, averaging 2.1 percent of the gross
domestic product (GDP) and below 10 percent of the annual budget.
This reflects the legacy of concentrating on economic
reconstruction in the 1970s, when Indonesia worked at regaining
the trust and goodwill of its neighbors. The establishment of
ASEAN was important for the fact that it sustained regional
trust, provide an environment conducive to our economic growth
and gave substance to the notion that true security rests on
prosperity and social equity at home. Out of our underlying
strategic vision, as well as economic necessity, we pioneered the
concept of cooperative engagement.

Rapid growth throughout East Asia in the post Cold War era has
heightened our need to plan ahead in securing access to energy
sources, particularly marine and biological riches in seabeds
within and adjacent to Indonesia's archipelagic waters. As we
concentrate on developing alternative sources of energy to press
ahead with industrialization, our military capability must
correspondingly be upgraded.

However, in light of the arms acquisition by other countries
in the region, there is no way that Indonesia's total of 430,000
uniformed personnel will pose any threat to our neighbors. In
relation to the 1.9 million square kilometers of Indonesia's
geographical area, its 192 million population and long-term
internal social-economic concerns, the strength and readiness of
our Army, Navy, Air Force and Police Force are necessarily
calibrated to emphasize domestic security and public order. In
any case, in the highly interdependent environment of East Asia
the costs of military unilateralism will be politically and
economically untenable.

Beyond studying the statistics, data, analyses and
projections, the National Resilience Institute encourages leaders
from the public and private sector, civilians as well as
military, to effectively take advantage of their experience as
course participants to network with one another. As these people
appreciate the magnitude and gravity of our ongoing and long-term
problems in this year of our 50th anniversary of independence, I
am confident that all of them welcome the opportunity to work
together in facing the challenges of strengthening the unity and
ensuring the survival of the Indonesian nation.