It could have been worse

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.