In search of the true Indonesia
Fitri Wulandari and Lela E. Madjiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia is mobs burning alive criminals, would-be criminals and even the innocent -- and taking great delight in doing so.
Indonesia is a country that frees tycoons charged with embezzling trillions of rupiah belonging to the state and the people.
Indonesia is Christians killing Muslims, Muslims killing Christians and Dayaks beheading Madurese.
Indonesia is increasing calls for separate states and the security forces continued brutal suppression of those fighting for independence.
Indonesia is unpaid billion-dollar debts whose streets in the capital are jammed with imported luxury cars but whose poor subsist on rationed rice that is often stolen by the officials that distribute it.
Indonesia is also lush paddy fields, glorious mountains, exotic plants, rare animals, burning forests and drying up rivers; lovely smiles, beautiful dances and pleasing music.
Those are the images reflected by this nation of conflicting faces.
Who are we? Are we really that savage, as demonstrated by the burning of thieves? Are we a nation of thugs who steal from the poor? Are we opportunists who occupy positions of power for our own interests? Are we legislators who make unnecessary foreign trips while millions are jobless?
What about all those past testimonies describing Indonesians as friendly, a smiling nation? Were they misguided, or have we changed?
These are questions Indonesians should answer truthfully as they prepare to celebrate their 57th anniversary as a free nation. Independence Day is a day for reflection, a time to ponder past deeds and mistakes for future reference.
While the above portrayal of Indonesia seems bleak, it is part of the reality and is therefore subject to scrutiny and some rethinking. For one thing, the face of Indonesia today is a breach of the spirit of the nation as stated in the preamble of the 1945 Constitution and the Pancasila state ideology. Both mention belief in God, humanity and social justice as part of the foundation on which the nation stands. There is a gap between the ideal Indonesians and the real Indonesians.
This gap has become even more prominent during the past few years, ever since the economic crisis hit the country in 1997. After all, the true character of a person or a people becomes apparent in times of crisis. National solidarity, a willingness to sacrifice for the people and country, to put national interests above personal and group interests and compassion for the needy and oppressed, seems to have disappeared from the face of this nation of one-time patriots.
Noted educator Ibu Kasur and children's songwriter A.T. Machmud agree that today's Indonesia is indeed different from the Indonesia they have always known.
"In my time, people knew Indonesians as warm, friendly people and they were like that," Ibu Kasur, whose real name is Mrs. Soerjono S., told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
A.T. Machmud meanwhile said he had never experienced a time when his own people fought each other.
"I have been through Dutch and Japanese colonialism as well as (the 1945 independence) revolution, but even in harsh times, such as the Japanese period, Indonesians didn't fight each other," he said.
Today's events are due to the fact that Indonesians have lost their consciences because of a lack of moral guidance to choose between right and wrong.
"Your conscience helps you think with your brain and your feelings. That is what is lacking in our people now," A.T. Machmud said.