'Feudalism' rife in government, says Rudini
'Feudalism' rife in government, says Rudini
JAKARTA (JP): Noted political observer Rudini says "feudalism" among top Indonesian government officials is hampering democratization.
"A great number of our officials in the bureaucracy cannot take criticism, and treat differences of opinion as proof of disloyalty toward or rebellion against superiors," Rudini, who is chairman of the Indonesian Institute for Strategic Studies, said yesterday.
"The power elite prefers the status quo to change," he told a seminar on national culture being held jointly by Indonesia's five religious-based intellectuals' associations -- ICMI (Moslems), ISKA (Roman Catholics), PIKI (Protestants), FCHI (Hindus) and KCBI (Buddhists).
Yesterday's discussion was the second of the three-day seminar, which was opened by President Soeharto. The seminar will close today.
Rudini, known for his critical stance on many matters, said that the actions of many public figures were inconsistent with the "values of national culture" which the nation aspires to.
"The people's and the leaders' actions ... are not democratic", he said, adding that this lack of democracy persisted in spite of the fact that Indonesia has institutions which should guarantee democracy. Among those institutions are the five-yearly general election, the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly, Rudini said.
The less-than-democratic nature of Indonesian society is evident, he said, in "the too-centralized economic and political power and a development process which is dictated from the center (of power) and top down."
In his speech, Rudini discussed the conditions necessary for greater democratization. He said that these included a reduction in the dependence of social groups on the government.
In the economic sphere, this would mean greater privatization and decentralization of management, he said. In politics, it would take the form of greater attention to the "democratization of life", he added.
"We have the complete structure and institutions for democracy, but we do not act democratically," he said. "Our national culture continues to be dominated by a 'servant's culture', which is not conducive to democratization.
"People imbibed with servant's culture always obey orders; they like the status quo, they like uniformity, and in general they do not like innovations, do not dare to take risks by seeking alternative ways," he said.
The question of culture is inseparable from "a system of domination" as reflected in the political and economic culture, he said.
Changing the situation would therefore require political will, he said.
Elsewhere in his speech, Rudini said potential conflicts arising from cultural differences could be controlled by establishing the state ideology Pancasila as a common platform.
Pancasila consists of five principles: belief in one God, humanity, unity, democracy and justice for all. (01)