Circumventing unrest

Controversies involving ethnicity, religion, race and/or community groups (SARA), are, as we all know, sensitive issues in Indonesia. According to the minister of defense and security, a closer look would reveal that in the whole Southeast Asian region such issues are never far from the surface. Similar problems have even cropped up in industrialized countries as a result of economic regression and growing unemployment.

The already touchy SARA issues could become even more sensitive when fueled by widening economic disparities. Under such circumstances people who are normally rationally inclined could lose their ability to reason. People could become increasingly inclined to vent their sentiments and would no longer act rationally. At that stage, which the minister of defense and security described as a "stagnancy of reason", people are easily tempted to look for scapegoats.

Given all this, according to the minister, the only way out is to improve the economy. Naturally the problem is not merely to ensure economic growth, but to see to it that this growth is distributed fairly and evenly. One thing that must not be overlooked is that eliminating disparities is not a job for the government alone. All parties who are in a position of economic advantage, whether they be formal institutions, organizations or individuals, should also lend a hand.

-- Pikiran Rakyat, Bandung