Indonesia: The amazing, and the baffling

Indonesia: The amazing, and the baffling

S.P. Seth, Sydney

What amazes and baffles about Indonesia is that its elites can
in all sincerity argue the sublime and the ridiculous at the same
time. For instance, it was refreshing to hear Kuntoro
Mangkusubroto of the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Executing
Agency slam the government for doing almost nothing for
reconstruction in the tsunami devastated province of Aceh. He
simply couldn't understand the lack of urgency "even after a
tragedy that has killed 130,000."

He said, "There are no roads being built. There are no bridges
being built. There are no harbors being built. When it comes to
reconstruction, zero." This was refreshing candor that might,
hopefully, bear some fruit.

At the same time, though, he highlighted a deal his agency had
signed with a consortium led by the Intel Corp to make Aceh the
first province in Indonesia to have broadband access, hardly a
priority for a devastated region urgently needing basic things of
life. Therefore, we have this upright engineer who rightly feels
angry about the lack of reconstruction work in Aceh but, at the
same time, can talk glibly about broadband access for the
province. Something is just not right here.

Another recent instant of such juxtaposition is the way
Indonesia's power elite, from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
downward, made a beeline to the ailing ex-dictator Soeharto's
bedside. Out of Indonesia's about 55 years history after
independence, Soeharto ruled for 32 years. At a time when
Indonesia badly needed to build its political and other
institutions for its healthy functioning and growth, he did just
the opposite to maintain and bolster up his dictatorship.

There were murders galore and dissent of any sort was brutally
suppressed. The country's economy was tailored to help his family
and cronies. He plundered the country's wealth, but cannot be
tried because he is old and frail. Because the entire system is
tainted (even today), nobody in authority and power wants to rock
the boat fearing that too much digging might bring down the whole
house. Therefore, they are all hoping for the old man to die
peacefully and bury his stench with him.

Soeharto's dictatorship created an elaborate veneer of
stability and growth. But when the crunch came in 1997/1998, both
the dictatorship and the economy crumbled. The system simply
collapsed because there was nothing by way of institutions to
cushion the shock. And the country is still suffering the after-
shocks.

The point here is that when the high and mighty of the country
start paying calls on the discredited ex-dictator, it is not
simply a case of visiting an ailing former president in a
humanitarian gesture. It also has the effect of somehow
legitimizing his record and his rule, and creating a sense of
continuity between then and now. It tends to reinforce the
popular cynicism that nothing much has changed in Indonesia. The
cast has changed but it is the same old play they are staging.
For instance, the only thing Soeharto institutionalized during
his long rule was corruption. And it is still as virulently
prevalent as before, notwithstanding Susilo's brave talk.

In other words there is a new political vocabulary of
democracy and the periodic elections to go with it, but the way
of doing things and the mindset behind it is hardly changed.
Though everyone wants things to change, not many people are
hopeful that they will. A correspondent has quoted rumors that
all cement for reconstruction of tsunami- ravaged province of
Aceh will be channeled through a company closely allied to a very
senior politician in the government. Quoting other rumors of
corrupt deals and corrupt politicians, he comments that "a very
fishy smell begins to emerge from an administration elected on an
anti-corruption ticket."

Whether or not there is some truth behind these and other
rumors is beside the point. The important thing is that people
believe in them and the Susilo Government is not doing much
tangible to create a new momentum for a new Indonesia. To be sure
the President talks of eradicating corruption at all levels and
has appointed committees and commissions to deal with it, but
this simply highlights the problem of much talk and very little
substance. All these new bodies seem to be going nowhere.

Take, for instance, the high profile case of Munir Said Thailb
who was poisoned while on board a Garuda flight from Jakarta to
Amsterdam. There are clear leads in the case but it doesn't seem
to be making much headway, despite Susilo's seemingly keen
interest to speed up the process. If it can happen to a high
profile human rights campaigner with immense national visibility,
one just shudders to think of the fate awaiting a common
man/woman caught in Indonesia's legal web.

It is not suggested that Susilo can produce a rabbit out of a
hat in the short period he has been in power. But he certainly
can set the tone and direction to make people feel that he means
business. He is a great salesman, as proven by his election
victory and his forays into foreign affairs. But his salesmanship
must be backed with the quality of goods he is selling, which is
that he will free Indonesia of corruption. Otherwise, there will
be a free fall from the big gap in rhetoric and substance and the
ones to suffer most will be the people of Indonesia.

The author is a freelance writer and can be reached
SushilPSeth@aol.com.