End corruption, political abuse, terror

End corruption, political abuse, terror

Elwin Tobing, Founder, The Indonesian Institute,
elwin@theindonesianinstitute.org, Jakarta

The immediate effects of the despicable terror in Bali are
clear. There will be a sense of insecurity across the
archipelago, a poorer image of the nation and a potential
disaster of our economy.

For long, we have denied the presence of threats to our
national security and ignored the very basic rule in life: If you
don't take care of yourselves someone will do it for you, meaning
that someone will destroy you. Now we find ourselves overwhelmed
with a huge task to handle this terror and more likely we are not
able to do that without international support.

For a long time, corruption and destructive politics have
ruined our future, and now terrorism holds our nation hostage.
Sadly, corruption, destructive politics and terrorism are three
great recipes for the quick destruction of a nation. So, as a
nation our choice is clear: Whether we continue to exist or
accept the ultimate reality that Indonesia will soon be history
-- unless we fight against the three poisons swiftly and
resolutely. The bombings in Bali show us that the order of the
tasks to be in the first choice is as follows: Security,
constructive politics and the economy.

The foremost step is to examine ourselves and ask, do we
really have problems with ourselves? An honest answer to this
would end our denial mentality. This mentality is the biggest
problem with Indonesia.

The next step is to end the blaming game. Authorities must
find and prosecute the perpetrators of terror. But this is also
the time to come together and reflect on the nation's future.
After the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., Americans rallied behind
their leaders and they were united. Although the bombings in Bali
were mainly directed toward foreigners, the attack was on
Indonesian soil and it was about lives.

Rallying together behind the government to capture and punish
the terrorists and condemning terrorism will show that we value
lives and reject terror. As a nation, we now need to ask critical
questions: Will we surrender our future to a group of people --
whoever they are -- who are trying to destroy this nation and
secondly, what we must do to restore security across Indonesia.

The need for strong law enforcement is a must. But as the
sword never wins a heart, authorities must also realize that
machine guns alone will never be able to fully restore security.
It requires a new approach which combines muscles, productive
ideas and humanity.

Authorities must walk a fine line between protecting the
integrity of the nation and at the same time preserving the human
rights of our people. But one thing is certain, without strong
muscles and punishment any effort to restore security is a joke.
And without active public participation, any effort to restore
security will be ineffective.

While politicians have indirectly contributed to our
insecurity, the public has long been too passive in promoting
security. This has sent signals to terrorists that it is all
right to hurt and kill innocent people. Now, enough is enough.

The despicable terror in Bali and the blood of thousands of
innocent people in Maluku, Poso and other parts of the country is
enough. It is time for the public to participate actively in
building and promoting national and local security.

To start with, President Megawati Soekarnoputri must address
the nation to tell citizens of the urgency of building national
and local security for our nation's future. And Megawati must
appeal to fellow Indonesians to be vigilant while maintaining
high tolerance among different religions, ethnic groups and
races.

She must resolutely state that any activities and
organizations or interest groups that promote hate and violence
will be banned and punished. Tolerance for violence and hate must
be zero, regardless of its cause. Words must then be followed by
determined actions.

Apart from strong law enforcement and the active participation
of the public, efforts towards a stable national security also
require a new paradigm in our national politics.

As Bill Guerin in the Asia Times wrote, "This political
manipulation using Islamic symbols is extremely dangerous and
poses the greatest danger ever to Indonesia's stability since the
downfall of Soeharto."

He added that the leadership crisis "that allows Islamic
fundamentalism and terrorism to be confused with all Islamic
movements, political and social, non-violent and violent, is
driving a wedge between the West and the Indonesian Muslims."

"If the West and the Islamic world cannot meet in the middle,
then the future holds only the frightening prospect of more
hatred and radicalism," Guerin wrote.

Politicians in Indonesia have long assumed that the people are
unintelligent and easily manipulated. They make their political
maneuvers based on that assumption; take the bizarre political
tactics by Vice President Hamzah Haz who embraced a less popular
group while abandoning his party grass roots -- and the shameful
maneuver by the House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker and
chairman of the Golkar party, Akbar Tandjung, who still resists
demands that he resign despite his conviction for corruption.

Party leaders and elites must understand that people are now
hungry, jobless and desperate for good education and safety.
Attempts to win votes by selling religious and other exclusive
symbols is no longer appealing. People have seen that countries
which reduce the public's choice to black or white are
economically and politically backward.

Election winners in 2004 will thus be the parties which are
inclusive and can indeed provide prosperity and security to all
Indonesians.

Right now people need progress, not regress. People need
peace, not hatred. And people already know which way to realize
progress and which way to promote peace. Never try to fool them
because it is not going to work.