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)