Experts warn on future of democracy in the country

Experts warn on future of democracy in the country

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The future of democracy in the country is in danger as civil
society has been fading out of the public debates, a noted Muslim
intellectual warned over the weekend.

Azyumardi Azra, rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State
Islamic University, told a workshop in Surabaya that civil
society was one of three prerequisites for democracy in the
country and that Indonesia's peaceful transition to democracy
would face significant difficulties and take longer without any
discourse on civil society.

"This fading trend has raised many eyebrows. The period of
transition over the past three years should have seen the
discourse and practice of civil society grow stronger," Azyumardi
said.

The other prerequisites for democracy were a strong government
and solid economy.

According to Azyumardi, Indonesia still almost completely
lacked a strong civil society and strong state authority, not to
mention a strong economy, the three pillars necessary for
democracy, even after the change of national leadership from
Abdurrahman Wahid to Megawati Soekarnoputri last year.

He was afraid Indonesia would take longer to achieve democracy
due to the unfulfilled conditions.

"Despite the apparent political stability, one can still
witness the inability of the state to exercise authority in
overcoming security disturbances and violence in different parts
of the country," Azyumardi pointed out.

The professor called on civil forces like Nahdlatul Ulama,
Muhammadiyah and non-governmental organizations to set up
networks for the development of partnerships for concepts and
programs for civil society empowerment.

The workshop, jointly organized by Surabaya's Airlangga
University and the Straight Way Movement, was also attended by
Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid, Muhammadiyah chairman Sjafii
Ma'arif, Nahdlatul Ulama deputy chairman Solahuddin Wahid and
former Association of Islamic Students chief Sulastomo.

Paramadina Mulya University rector Nurcholish Madjid expressed
his conviction that Indonesia would come out of the crisis and
find itself in a different position within 10 years as long as
all national components maintained freedom.

"The nation must never be deprived of this freedom only due to
excess, because everything in the world has its cost and it is
the price we have to pay," he said.

Nurcholish added that the nation should be prepared to suffer
for some time in order to achieve lofty ideals, and "unless we
are ready to be bathed in perspiration, we will eventually be
bathed in blood."

He expressed his concern about the apathetic response from
some parts of society to the difficulties facing the country. He
added that this indifference could endanger the existence of
Indonesia as a nation.

Meanwhile, Sjafii said Indonesia lacked strong leaders who
could lead the nation to sweeping reform directed at improving
democracy here.

"Aside from their poor educational level, not to mention
access to international literature, generally speaking they are
still green," Sjafii said.

This basic weakness, he added, had resulted in the leaders'
failure to rebuild the country, which had been struggling to
emerge from economic crisis since 1997.

He noticed that some leaders were seasoned, but they had
developed the corrupt, repressive and introverted mentality that
was characteristic of the past.

There were also some leaders with a strong religious basis,
but they tended to abuse religious teachings to pursue their own
interests, Sjafii said.

"All these leaders have increased the problems we face. Who
should we believe in, then?" Sjafii said.