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.