Democracy first, but where is prosperity?

Democracy first, but where is prosperity?

Mohammad Noviz Zakhrisyah, Surabaya

"I do not care", responded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
to public criticism of his first 100 days in office. Susilo knows
the rules of the game. He was elected president for five years
and people have to swallow what he does during his term. That's
it, democracy has designed the powers in this republic.

At the beginning of the reform era, in the middle of a never-
ending economic crisis, elections offered a grandiose opportunity
for Indonesia, the biggest democratic archipelago in the world.
Through the elections, Indonesians tried to find a leader capable
of bringing the country to the promised land: a country with
monetary stability and prosperity promised by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) through its program of selling state assets.

More than 200 hundred million people here became patients of
the IMF. They blamed the condition on the Soeharto regime: an
authoritarian government supported by the United States, the
supposed most democratic country on Earth.

Most people do not understand what a monetary crisis means.
They only understand that the value of the US dollar increases
very high (a condition that even executives in the country did
not pay attention to before). Actually, even mothers and their
children talk about US dollars to buy American candy like M&Ms or
to eat at McDonald's. Finally, the monetary crisis had a positive
impact in opening people's eyes to see how an international issue
can influence their lives.

Every one in Indonesia welcomed the elections and hoped they
would have a positive impact on their lives, or at least not make
things even worse and prompt George W. Bush to intervene in the
country to improve the situation, as he promised to do in
Afghanistan and Iraq people.

The elections certainly did give the positive impression that
people are now free to choose their leaders. The international
community hoped the elections would educate Indonesians after the
Soeharto era and that this new democracy would open the doors to
foreign investment.

A new democracy was born as a new religion, with its
challenges and hopes. Every one admires it and wishes very much
to improve their lives. Indonesia is now really democratic and
Indonesians are now proud to tell the world that they live in a
democratic country.

This democracy is like a cake fresh from the oven, and people
have smelled the aroma (because they heard on TV that Bush said
democracy could bring prosperity). But smelling is not enough.
People want to a get a piece of the cake. Democracy has to
improve the country before people get bored with poverty and
decide its time for another authoritarian regime like the
Soeharto regime, which did bring prosperity.

For instance, the process of the elections did bring an
economic effect by increasing expenses. Some people enjoyed this
economic phenomenon. Travel warnings came from the governments of
several countries, eroding the good image of democracy and the
elections.

Now, 100 days after the inauguration of the new president,
people only smell the aroma, but they do not get a taste of the
cake. More severely, the country has been commercialized by the
new government. How? By exploiting materials in the soil and the
sea that belong to all Indonesians, and selling these items at a
commercial price to their own people. The IMF is gone but its
spirit remains.

The oil subsidy will be switched to improve health services,
education and other social programs, most directed at the poor.
Whoever protests this policy is considered as defending the rich
and oppressing the poor.

On the one hand, the government wants to help the poor by
giving them social safety nets, but on the other hand the
government cut the income of the poor by reducing their income
because of lower demand caused by the multiplier effect of
inflation. This is a kind of government circus where one
government hand pulls a drowning man out of water, while another
government hand pushes the man's head down.

The government, highly confident, said it had a five-year
mandate and could do what it thought was best without any
interruptions from anybody. Democracy ends when the elections are
over and people can only wait until the next elections.

In a country celebrating its graduation from an authoritarian
regime to a democratic one, the miracle of democracy bringing
prosperity is still a mirage. Democracy is considered the way to
transform our Frankenstein of a country into a paradise of
prosperity. While Frankenstein, played by Susilo, is busy with
multidimensional-crisis puzzles, a guest lecturer, called
tsunami, came and the lesson was "management and coordination".
The guest lecturer and his assistants, foreign military forces
and volunteers, are enthusiastic to give a tutorial to problem
student, Susilo.

In the name of economic growth, the government paraded out
international events such as the infrastructure summit to attract
investors. Infrastructure development can give prosperity to the
people, said a government official, by providing employment, and
to finance the work we all have to accept non-subsidized oil.
Once again, the government found a reason to defend their
actions. The aroma of the cake has increased and all the people
can do is smell it.

Reducing poverty became an issue in the presidential election.
But now the fight against poverty has become a fight against poor
domiciles. Everywhere, the poor have to move from their
domiciles. Poor domiciles are replaced by luxury trade centers
because this increases economic growth and attracts more
investors. Darwinian selection continues, the rich are getting
richer and the poor are getting poorer.

There is still time to correct mistakes, but as Confucius
said: "Whoever makes a mistake and does not correct it is making
another mistake." Or Susilo does not want to listen to public
opinion and does not want to change. We still have a last hope.
We pray to God to talk to Susilo and make him listen, work harder
and have more ideas and courage. Amen.

The writer works in Surabaya. He is an industrial engineering
graduate from the Universite Evry in France.