Climate of freedom is needed

Climate of freedom is needed

By Hendrajit

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Finance Mar'ie Mohammad said recently that Indonesia's burgeoning middle class will soon be demanding more public accountability and good governance.

In a get-together with the Association of Indonesian Moslem Students he said that these demands will in turn contribute to the ongoing social transformation currently sweeping the country.

Mar'ie was quite sure that through its increasing critical view of how the country should be governed and its more liberal and vocal attitudes, the middle class will give a new look to Indonesia's transformation process towards an industrialized society. Accordingly, he said, those in power must be prepared to face criticism. This insight is very enlightening indeed.

In many developing states, there has been a marked increase in demands for democracy during the last couple of years. Democracy has become a public issue. New pro-democracy groups have been established and non-governmental organizations have become more outspoken. Various middle class activists and intellectuals demand more political freedom. More importantly, worker and peasant groups are taking part in the struggle for democracy through strikes and actions in connection with land disputes.

In other words, people want to participate in the decision making process. They want to express their opinions about the widespread practice of nepotism and monopoly, about government projects that force people to be resettled with no compensation, and about the need for press freedom.

Compared to the 1960s, there is now a substantial middle class layer, although as a percentage of the total population it is relatively still very small. It is, however, getting stronger economically, and eventually politically as well. Despite the fact that the New Order government has given this middle class many things, this group also has dissatisfactions.

Firstly, nepotistic monopolies in the economy hurt many in the business community. In spite of the deregulation measures introduced by the government, there remain regulations that have created too many business opportunities for an elite group of high state officials.

A common thread running through development planning since independence has been the allocation of resources by politicians and bureaucrats. Business in Indonesia is still politically weak compared to the government.

Though the business community is emerging as the most significant economic middle class it still lacks the capacity to significantly influence policy makers. Nepotistic monopolies hurt not only big businesses, but those at the middle business level.

Successful new order economic policy has created an expanding group of young professionals. They want a more liberal economic policy that allows them to compete professionally. They press for more economic deregulation as well as a reduced role of the state. Their demands are becoming increasingly difficult to suppress.

Secondly, the professionals, despite their increased standard of living, see that the state bureaucracy is too powerful. The power of the state has limited their freedom of expression, as well as that of journalists, intellectuals and academics. They need more democratic space

In their view, a strong civil society is a precondition for democracy, in which all professional associations -- be they journalists, advocates, intellectuals or academics -- can independently promote their interests to the government. However, the press, as one of the most influential sectors in civil society, is still vulnerable because of government's unlimited power to ban any newspaper, magazine, radio and TV station. However, despite strict licensing procedures, the press can influence government policies, to a certain extent, by mobilizing public opinion.

At same time, society under the New Order is nearly bereft of great plays, books and films. The production, marketing and distribution of films is overregulated, while a national censorship board keeps a close eye on the messages that films bring to the audience. The quality of Indonesian movies has also suffered because of government domination.

The extent of government intervention is noticeable in the sharp drop in Indonesian film output. Only 32 films were produced in 1992, a significant drop since the industry heyday in the 1970s when more than 100 titles were produced each year.

Academic life has been hard hit as well. The climate of intellectual freedom that once was taken for granted by Indonesian universities has become another victim of the security approach. Because the current system of government does not encourage open debate and openness, university deans are expected to keep campuses free of politics. Professors critical of Indonesia's development process or political system are denied promotions. Classroom life is boring and uninspiring and student apathy is common.

Mar'ie's emphasis on the Indonesian middle class as the accelerator of democracy is not entirely correct. Democracy is significant for both the worker and the peasant. Although their standards of living have increased as the result of economic growth, their lives are not getting easier. Many experience difficulties obtaining employment, others have lost their jobs.

Many become the victims of development projects. In the case of Kedung Ombo in Central Java or the Sampang incident in East Java, the peasants were forced to give up their land or to sell it very cheaply to private industrial estates. In short, peasants are losing their land while people in the big cities working in informal sectors like becak drivers and street vendors are losing their jobs. Jakarta abolished the becak on the pretext of modernizing the city and attracting more tourists. The Yogyakarta municipal government prohibits street vendors from operate in Yogyakarta along Malioboro.

A similar fate has befallen workers. Of all the foreign criticism of human rights practices in Indonesia, none has attracted the government's attention and concern more than the exploitation of workers.

As a key component of the country's economic success, Indonesian workers do not enjoy freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively. Furthermore, the government has not adequately enforced minimum wage regulations. In the meantime, the only recognized union in the country, the All- Indonesia Workers Union Federation, is heavily controlled by the government and poorly equipped to defend workers against employers.

These people want to say something about government policies. But in reality they are not politically organized due to the government's successful control over almost all existing mass and political organizations in the country. The New Order administration, since its early days in 1966, has not allowed any substantial change that could threaten its power.

Various forms of repression are still used against pro- democracy activists who raise the people's grievances. The people at the grassroots level have no effective political vehicle to convey and defend their interests. The consequence has been a loss of creativity and initiative.

If the trend continues for another 15 or 20 years, it could spell trouble for the whole country. Indonesia must foster its intellectual strengths by letting people say what they think without fear. Indonesians must develop their critical faculties so they can understand what is happening to themselves, to their society and within the world.

Indonesians need a climate of freedom. A nation can only advance with the creativity and initiative of all of its people. The power center's obsession with harmony and consensus and its unwillingness to tolerate dissent should be ended.

A new breed of Indonesians is steadily entering positions of responsibility at all levels of society, replacing the older generation. In this process, changes of outlook and priorities are inevitable. The people will be more concerned with the quality of stability that Indonesia's political framework provides. The key problem is how to create mutual respect between the national elite and the whole people in order to make democracy possible.

The writer is a freelance journalist and political observer based in Jakarta.

Window A: Indonesia must foster its intellectual strengths by letting people say what they think without fear.

Window B: A common thread running through development planning since independence has been the allocation of resources by politicians and bureaucrats.