Fasting expected to improve morality
Last Sunday's rioting in Surakarta, Central Java, was merely one on a long list of episodes of vandalism and violence that have demonstrated the degradation of Indonesians' morality. The Jakarta Post looks for reasons for the moral decadence and the expectation that the obligatory fasting in this month of Ramadhan, which starts on Sunday, will help improve people's morality. Related articles on Page 5 and 7.
JAKARTA (JP): Ramadhan comes at a very timely juncture because Indonesians' morality is plummeting to arguably its lowest level in the country's 53-year history.
The moral degradation is manifest in a long list of violent actions, most notably massive rioting in Jakarta on May 13 and May 14, and in Surakarta on May 15. The mid-May rioting caused the destruction and burning of thousands of buildings, and claimed the lives of about 1,200 people, most of whom were identified by the authorities as looters.
Since then, several more incidents of unrest, accompanied by looting, arson and other vandalism, have occurred. The crime rate is on an upward trends with the intensity of the violence increasingly in a major way.
High school students in Jakarta become involved in street brawls almost everyday, leaving several dead or injured.
"We are upset that our morality is in complete decay. Our youths, for example, look satisfied after destroying shops and public facilities or hurting others while they were involved in demonstrations, riots or mass brawls," said psychologist Elly Risman Musa, executive director of parenting foundation Yayasan Peduli Anak Buah Hati.
"Corrupt practices have also been flourishing in the bureaucracy for more than 30 years," she told The Jakarta Post.
Ibrahim Hussein, a vice chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council, said fasting during Ramadhan should help improve the morality of the nation because fasting Muslims are not merely required to restrain themselves from committing aggressive actions but also to prevent others from doing so.
Sugiat Ahmad Sumadi, chairman of the public health care agency of Muhammadiyah, said fasting could result in improved control of hormone flows, which in turn influence temperament. Fasting, therefore, can help improve people's morality.
Psychiatrist Muhammad Moadz, director of the Islamic Psychiatric Hospital in Jakarta, said fasting allowed individuals to exercise their instincts better to control their passions.
"Fasting is a form of conditioning that trains an individual to be patient in facing problems, content with anything he/she experiences, tough when trying to achieve goals, honest when speaking and tolerant with other people," he said.
"Because moral decadence is caused mostly by the inability of individuals to control their passions, fasting will help improve Indonesians' morality, most of whom are Muslims," he added.
However, fasting would help an individual control passions only if it is done with a strong motivation to obtain God's favor, he said.
Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono said that during Ramadhan, schools would hold additional religious classes, and entreat pupils to be more tolerant of each other.
Such activities were expected to help curtail student brawls, he said.
Skepticism
However, Elly expressed skepticism, saying that fasting and other religious activities would not do much to improve morality because the current moral degradation was so deeply rooted.
During the fasting month, more Muslims than usual are expected to attend prayers at mosques, where religious lectures are given after morning and night prayers. TV stations also broadcast religious lectures everyday, while several organizations, including government institutions, will hold prayer gatherings.
Elly said the main cause for the moral degradation was the government's decision in 1975 to replace moral education in schools with the teaching of the state ideology Pancasila.
In addition, curricula have failed to develop students' skills, particularly in problem solving, creative thinking, writing, decision-making, role playing and debating. Textbooks are not selected on the basis of quality but on the capability of publishers to "win contracts" from the government.
Furthermore, corrupt practices flourishing in the bureaucracy have led students to relate education activities with money. A recent survey showed that students no longer have the motivation to learn because they do not see any benefits, said Elly, who is also operations director of a marketing research and management consulting firm PT Surindo Utama.
At home, parents failed to function as educators of their children because they are too busy working to earn money.
Juwono denied that moral degradation had been caused by the replacement of moral education with the teaching of Pancasila.
"The two main reasons for students' moral degradation are the explosion in the number of new students entering senior high schools in the past three years and the poverty resulting from the economic crisis," he said.
The student explosion was caused by the accelerated establishment of new elementary schools. Students graduated from such schools in the first three years are now studying at the first to third grades of senior high schools.
To improve the morality of school students, the government is considering reintroducing moral education at schools.
"A decision on whether we should reintroduce it will be made in 2000 under a program of totally revising the curricula, which will include the reduction of subjects," Juwono said.
He reminded that all members of society should be involved in efforts to improve students' morality.
Parents need to improve the frequency and quality of their contacts with their children at home and local authorities have to increase the number of recreation centers to enable youths to channel their aggression into sports competitions.
Elly suggested that religious preachers revise their teaching method. "A survey in the United States revealed in 1997 that moral development could not be made through lectures," she said. "Religious preachers in Indonesia, therefore, should change their method of teaching from lecturing to role playing, debating or other means, thereby making students more active." (riz)