It could have been worse

In a car accident, a man suffered broken legs and arms, his car was smashed beyond repair. He is lucky. It could have been worse. He could have died, or suffered worse injuries.

This approach to life, which some people call a Javanese philosophy to life, is the best way of looking at 2001.

No matter how bad things were during this politically turbulent year, we could say "it could have been worse". This would spare us from the agony of looking at the wonderful opportunities lost. Things could certainly have been much but there is no sense in regretting what could have been.

Politically, 2001 must qualify as one of the most turbulent years for Indonesia. From scandals to conflicts, we went through them with all, their ugly consequences.

The Buloggate scam took a lot of our attention and energy over the first seven months of the year, during which time nothing else really mattered. As then president Abdurrahman Wahid, the man at the center of the scandal, fought a fierce battle against the massive campaign to impeach him, all other pressing reform programs, including economic recovery, the cleaning up of the mess in the legal sector, had to be put on hold.

Our worst fear of a showdown between his political supporters and opponents, did not materialize. The leadership succession from Abdurrahman to Megawati Soekarnoputri proceeded with unpredictable ease and order. But after a new administration was put in place, one that supposedly enjoys greater support from the majority of political factions, things did not get any better.

Only a few problems, put on hold in the first seven months of the year, have been addressed and then not very satisfactorily.

The economy continues on its year-long path of "muddling through" without making any significant progress. The government now learns that the political reforms since 1998 have not only curtailed its powers, but they have also turned the House of Representatives into a monster. The House happily used, or abused, its new found powers, to block just about every other government economic program, at the cost of the entire economy.

Violent conflicts in some pockets of the archipelago have continued to haunt us all year long. The ethnic conflict in Kalimantan may have receded, but religious clashes flared up in Maluku and North Maluku, and in the Central Sulawesi regency of Poso. Killing has become a daily occurrence in Aceh.

In Irian Jaya, the murder of independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay has galvanized the aspirations for a Papuan state. The killings in Aceh and Irian Jaya eclipsed the significance of new laws granting sweeping autonomy to the two provinces.

The new regional autonomy law, which came into force this year after decades of waiting, proved to be an anticlimax. It has turned into an ugly fight for the control of assets and natural resources, between the regional and central administration, and between neighboring provinces. These fights made a mockery of the whole exercise of granting autonomy to the regions.

If you think that politically, the nation will be more stable in 2002, you'd better look again. Buloggate II has just started, this time involving House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and will likely keep our politicians busy fighting each other this coming year.

The country's judiciary remains in a mess. The prize for the biggest blunder goes to the Supreme Court, the last bastion of justice, for acquitting businessman Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the son of former president Soeharto, from graft charges even when he had formally admitted to the sin.

Other than the peace agreement in Poso and the arrest of Tommy Soeharto, both occurring late in the year, you would be hard pressed to look for any bright spots in 2001 in Indonesia.

This has indeed been a year of lost opportunities for Indonesia. We have squandered valuable time and resources on matters that could and should have been prevented. Still, there is no point in ruing about what we could have achieved.

As we end the year, it's best to adopt the Javanese philosophy to life and regard 2001 as a year of learning. It could have been worse. Let's hope we have all learned our lessons and pray that 2002 turns out to be a much better year.