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.