Choosing a visionary leader

Benny Susetyo Cultural Observer Malang, East Java

Our nation needs a strong national leader characterized by steadfastness and a democratic and uncomplaining nature, in an effort to pull the country and its people out of this protracted crisis. Of course, it is also required that this leader should have the ability to guide the nation, which would be reflected in his or her track record and programs.

It must be admitted that socially and culturally our nation is still holding on to the patron-client relationship. A leader's strengths and capabilities remain an indication of whether or not we can get out of this crisis.

All our experiences as a nation show that we rely on the figure of our leader, and that the type of our nationalism is highly reliant on this type of leadership. Our community is yet to be independent in improving our lives because matters related to the system are influenced by this type of leadership.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, one of the preconditions for Indonesia to get out of crisis lies in the figure of its leader. However, this reality should not be used to fool the public by demonstrating that a particular figure looks great and strong but is actually incapable of dealing with national problems.

If this deception persists, the public will again be trapped in accepting a figure who seems to be fighting for the little people but that, in reality, casts them down.

Politicians have made use of this patron-and-client condition that characterizes our community to benefit themselves, not to disentangle this complicated relationship. In this case, a leader does not serve as a role model but acts as a ruler that does nothing to eliminate people's sufferings.

These days the public and the mass media are busily talking about Indonesia's future president and what criteria a presidential hopeful must meet. It is undeniable that our people are still lulled by their short-term orientation in that they are interested only in looking for a strong figure to lead them.

Results of a number of surveys have shown that there is a longing on the part of the public for a military figure as their leader, a reflection that the general public believes that civilians have failed to build a democratic and strong government.

As a result, the people will view their leader not from his or her working agenda, his vision or his orientation to pull Indonesia out of the ongoing crisis.

At this juncture, the people must be made aware of the great danger of only wanting a figure that seems strong without ever questioning his spirit and vision to take Indonesia toward democracy. This figure will eventually result in the strong dependence on a person, not on what the leader should be doing. In other words, we are enamored only by a figure. This would only offer an illusion to the public.

The irony will be greater if the figure that is given prominence is not only one that seems strong but, rather, one that suits the wishes of certain parties or even caters to the wishes of the international market (in this case, this figure is dependent on the market).

We may ask, therefore, whether this leader will lead the people or the market? If a leader must be acceptable to the market, this simply means that the destiny of the people has been tragically reduced to the word "market". Who is this "market"? Is the market geared toward people's welfare or simply toward the accumulation of capital? Obviously, the latter is the answer.

A leader that can be sold to the public and is oriented to major economic players will only fool the public. The public is made to believe that their leader is like a god of savior, while in fact, his capability has yet to be put to a test.

It is true that in this age whoever controls technology, communication and science will control the world. Even the philosophers in previous centuries predicted the same thing. Dependence on the figure of a leader and the wishes of the parties behind the scene will only make the nation miserable.

If this is the case, we will never have a leader of the caliber of Mahatma Gandhi, a figure that not only called on his people to live modestly but made himself a role model for this aspiration. What we have is a leader that calls on the people to live modestly but never lives modestly himself. We need a leader that makes himself a model for what he calls for.

The mass media have created sweet images of a leader. Most mass media are concerned only with how to make profits and how the reality of a leader will be saleable.

The mass media are yet to provide sufficient political education to the public so that they will understand that a wise leader is one that has a visionary agenda and is not simply a person with a great number of blind followers.

The reality of a leader is similar to what the advertising world is used to doing. A virtual world is created to stress to the public that a figure is flawless. It is this type of figure that the capitalists have engineered in such a way to produce profits and benefits for themselves, not for the welfare of the people.

These days are of decisive significance for us to determine a leader that is capable of reform. That is why the skepticism that the public has shown should not be construed as the willingness of the public to be orchestrated. The public would like to learn the vision of reform that becomes the spirit of their future leader.

That is why the public must realize that it is difficult today to find a leader that has strong points in all lines. What we need is not only a leader that is strong but also a leader that can offer a clear agenda. Militarization in all aspects of life have always been criticized and must be thrown away for good.

This does not mean we reject a leader from the military circle but we simply would like to know the extent of the vision of democracy and crisis management that this figure from the military circle may have.

That a figure has a clear agenda must be reflected in his behavior and attitude. What has he done during the ongoing crisis? So, the community should ask this figure to spell out his vision and mission. In this case, it is not a matter of being supported or not or winning in a convention or not or being approved by Muslim clerics or not!

So, at present we need a visionary leader, not simply a figure that has a particular capability and quality. A visionary leader is one who takes into account the future of his people and not one who reduces the fate of his people into capital accumulation.