Critical thinking needed

Critical thinking needed

The Jakarta Post is to be commended for publishing Y.B.
Mangunwijaya's excellent article on Jan. 29, 1998. Yes, we seem
to have become a nation of sheep, averse to, or even incapable
of, critical thinking; a nation of parrots, screeching platitudes
without thought. It is evident in the utterance and actions of
the elite, the bureaucracy and the business community alike,
particularly among those who have attended Indonesian elementary
and secondary schools since the 1950s. They have been taught by
rote-learning, with a taboo placed on critical questioning.

Equally amazing is the self-delusion of those in power, who
profess to believe that people still have confidence in the
present leadership, and that nationalist slogans will cure the
economy.

Public contempt is high for the greed and incompetence of
civil servants and for the lack of honor displayed by cabinet
ministers, who refuse to resign over botched practices and
shortcomings in their field of responsibility.

Have we indeed become a nation without imagination? It seems
unthinkable that among 200 million people there appear to be no
credible leadership candidates. The honorable 1,000 appointees
known as the people's representatives should start acting as the
nation's conscience and voice what they really think, after
listening to their constituents.

There can be no democracy without critical appraisal of
government. There is no honor in clinging to power beyond one's
era of competence. The impressive accomplishments of the past
were achieved because of the administration's acknowledgment of
the need for constant change and innovation. Denying that need
now is an open invitation to failure and more suffering for the
people in the years to come.

HARJO NIMPUNO

Jakarta