Govt's declaining dignity causing more violence

Govt's declaining dignity causing more violence

The culture of violence has become the talk of the people
following the recent spate of riots in a number of cities. Some
believe that it has become embedded in all levels of society.
Chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama Abdurrahman Wahid attempts to get at
the bottom of the problem.

Question: How do you see the problem?

Answer: There is always a reciprocal relationship between
violence and the government's self-esteem. If the government is
highly revered, there will be no violence in this country.

If violence occurs, there must be problems between the people
and the government. The cause of the problems between the two
parties itself could be anything. It could be internal, like
conflicts among particular government officials or external when
the people are dissatisfied with some government policies. The
cause of the loss of the government's respectability is,
therefore, varied.

But the question is: "Is our government's respectability
vanishing, or not? If it is, what is the cause of this?"

Q: What do you think has caused this?

A: I see that our government's respectability is declining
because there are too many confusing policies and improper acts
by top government officials.

There is almost no common perception of government policies
and this has made their implementation confusing. When these
policies are still in the form of guidelines, the common
perception may still be there. But once these guidelines have
been broken down, different officials may have different
interpretations. This would, of course, lead to differences in
their implementation.

Q: Is there any other factor that may explain the present
situation?

A: Violence reflects a government's respectability. If a
government is respected, it will win people's trust. If people
trust the government, they will leave all the problems, disputes,
or conflicts they are facing to the government. Thus, no one will
take the law into their own hands nor take their dissatisfaction
to the street.

Violence will automatically come to the fore when the
government loses its respectability. For example, if a class has
a respectable teacher, the students in the class will be quiet
and cause no trouble. If a class is troublesome, it is a
reflection of a disrespectable teacher.

Q: Is there any relationship between the recent violence and the
upcoming general election?

A: No, I don't think so.

Q: If that is the case, what steps can we take to overcome the
problem?

A: It is important to restore the government's respectability.
This can be done by the whole community as well as the
government, side by side. The problem has become very
complicated. Every one has to take part in it. As I said, the
government's decreasing respectability can be related to a number
of factors.

Q: What role can the community play?

A: The community has to be introspective. We have to realize that
there is also something wrong with the community when a
government loses its respectability. As I said, there is always a
reciprocal relationship between the two parties.

Q: In this case, what's wrong with the community?

A: The community is reluctant to examine or evaluate things
thoroughly and carefully. They are easily swayed by any issue.
This is one example of the mistakes the community has made which
has led them to the present situation.

Q: Are you saying that some recent incidents like those in
Situbondo and other places are also examples of the society's
mistakes?

A: Not really. Cases like Situbondo or Tasikmalaya, as the
government has said, were intentionally created by particular
parties. Every riot that involves violence basically reflects the
government's diminishing respectability, both at a local and
national level.

Q: How serious is the culture of violence in the country?

A: It's very serious. As you see, hooliganism (locally known as
premanism or local style mafia) grows well everywhere. It is also
very well organized. These people have acquired wealth through
bribery which in essence oppresses government institutions and
thereby undermines their respectability. Fraud, robbery, human
rights violations and other atrocities have showered them with
material advantages. Some of these hooligans have even become
"honorable" members of society. They are treated as such. How can
a government or a society have dignity if they treat hooligans in
a such way?

Q: Is there any practical way to deal with such a situation?

A: The government's dignity cannot be regained through practical
and short-term measures. There is no short-cut to deal with such
a problem. If there was one, it would only be a temporary
solution. It would never solve the real problem. That's why
hooliganism has been re-emerging although many efforts have been
made to eliminate it.

Q: How do you relate the problem of the government's decreasing
respectability to the process of democracy in the country?

A: Democracy is a means to control the running of a government
and a bastion of civil rights. If it succeeds, the government
will gain respectability. Thus, people's obedience of the
government arises from its respect not its fear toward it.

Q: Does it mean that the process of democracy here has been
unsuccessful?

A: It's a rhetorical question. There's no need to ask such a
question. It's obvious that there has been no democracy here,
yet. What we have is the Pancasila democracy. But its level of
democracy also still has to be proven. (swa)