Indonesia needs to rebuild its self-confidence

Indonesia needs to rebuild its self-confidence

Ahmad Syafii Maarif, Chairman, Muhamamdiyah, Jakarta

Indonesia is likely the worst of the nations now limping
toward greater control of their own destiny. With a population of
about 220 million, Indonesia, an archipelago comprising about
17,000 islands, is really going through a dangerous and
physically tiring phase of its history. Three questions demand
proper answers.

Will Indonesia be able to maintain its respectable position in
the global arena in the near future or will it degenerate into a
state providing cheap labor because of its mediocre human
resources? Will the disastrous national disintegration that we
have had for the past few years ever be mended by restoring our
position as the world's fourth-largest nation? What should we do
to rebuild optimism in an acutely pessimistic community?

Our choice is to rise as a respectable nation or remain a
nation of unskilled laborers.

Therefore, we must now change the paradigm of our selfish way
of thinking by honestly prioritizing the interests of the nation
above all, now threatened by irresponsible, and short-term
interests, as reflected in the political behavior of certain
people, both at central and regional level.

Their attention is focused merely on the 2004 general
election, and they do not care about the fate of the fatigued
nation, whether it is able to survive or not. This is a very
ironic tragedy and makes us breathless. And under the mantle of
democracy some of us become a hidden traitor to the nation. If
such behavior deteriorates, I am afraid that this nation will
move toward moral and political bankruptcy. In other words, if
our egoism remains and if our common sense and conscience are
blinded, then the conclusion of the Dutch colonial rulers -- that
Indonesians were too stupid and too primitive for higher
education -- will hold water.

If we sincerely wish to refute the Dutch colonial rulers'
conclusion about our nation, we must free ourselves from politi
cal sentimentality. We must give up visionless politics.

Even though official colonialism in physical and military form
have been regarded as uncivilized by modern standards,
colonialism in the form of neo-imperialism remains, where a
weaker nation will always do whatever a stronger nation tells it
to do because of the formers' great economic and military
reliance on the latter.

Our self-confidence in facing international competition will
depend very much on the quality of our human resources. It is no
secret that, in general, due to the failure of our education, the
quality of our human resources is still far below that of our
competitors.

The export of Indonesian workers to several countries is an
example. Some of them are successful but many also encounter
serious problems, especially female workers. The number of bad
experiences suffered by workers in foreign countries is
uncountable; either suicide, rape, or expulsion. In certain
places they are treated like slaves. How bitter is their fate!

With unemployment reaching 40 percent of the total workforce,
Indonesia is being confronted by serious problems. It is
estimated that by 2020 Indonesia's population will have reached
250 million people. If everything runs normally, our population
will reach stasis at 350 million people in 2050.

The urgent question is: If our amoral mentality remains
unchanged, can this nation survive as a nation until 2050?. The
question is very crucial to me, and can only be answered by
concrete action and a convincing change of attitude, not by
illusive political rhetoric.

We must admit that our statesmanlike vision in preparing the
future is still too weak in this area. Although we have been a
free nation for 57 years, a semifeudalistic culture and an
authoritarian political system are still with us. The habit of
waiting for an instruction from a superior has stunted our
creativity in decision making.

The leaders we need now are those who can do their best to
maintain the existence of this nation but not those who are fond
of money politics.

We are seeking a leader who is capable of doing his or her
best to maintain the existence of a united nation with dignity,
and not a person who likes to indulge in money politics. Such
behavior has ruined our image as a principled and civilized
nation.

With the implementation of regional autonomy since January
2001 we hoped that our situation would improve. However, dirty
politics became more widespread and caused great suffering for
the sick nation.

Therefore it is our duty to jointly carry out jihad against
corruption, although it will be very tiring because jihad
requires our preparedness to work hard to achieve our noble goal.
There is no other way to ensure a good and respectable future of
the nation except to fully eradicate corruption. At this
juncture, the government's political will is very much needed.

As a Muslim who lives in a predominantly Muslim country, I can
no longer bear the shame of seeing my country labeled the most
corrupt nation in Asia, although the corrupt are not just
Muslims. If only there were a greater correlation between the
number of those who have performed the haj pilgrimage and the
improvement of the morals and ethics of the nation!

At this point we must all confess our collective sins to God
the Almighty. This confession is necessary as a purgative.
Afterwards we can mend the cracks in our national unity and then
concentrate on educational improvement. For our long-term goals,
education is pivotal, for without a complete overhaul of our
education, we, again, will become only a nation of unskilled
laborers.

We are in a bad state but are still better than some African
countries. We still have our considerable natural resources as
our assets.

We appeal to the MPR (People's Consultative Assembly) to be
sincere and honest in amending the Constitution, that the
amendment is not based on the short-term interests of certain
groups or parties.Ignorance in handling these fundamental
problems will have a long-term impact on the future and character
of the nation. At this point it is also necessary to consider the
establishment of a commission on the Constitution. Amendment of
the 1945 Constitution requires true statesmanship.

It must be remembered that the amendment of the Constitution
must, on no account, be linked to any narrow interests related to
the 2004 general election. Take, for example, the direct election
of the president and vice president. An MPR stipulation on this
matter could be implemented in the 2004 general election but it
must also be followed by another MPR stipulation on the direct
election of governors, regents and municipality heads. Only in
this way can we build a responsible democracy that reflects the
people's sovereignty in its true sense.

Then the political parties. Many of them pursuing factious
approaches for some easily guessed reasons should therefore
realize that their approach will only ruin democracy and court
anarchy.

The article is an excerpt of Syafii Maarif's speech at the
Right Path Movement Forum on May 20.