Justice: An Indonesian perspective

Justice: An Indonesian perspective

For many Indonesians justice is still a luxury. A number of
widely publicized cases recently, notably the judicial review of
the Kedung Ombo dam case, have put justice on public debate.
Philosopher Franz Magnis-Suseno makes an attempt to look at
justice from the point of view of average people.

JAKARTA (JP): Is justice just an obsession of underemployed
intellectuals or is it something felt deeply in the hearts of
common people?

As in other Asian and African countries, Indonesians find
their identity not as atomized individuals watching for their
rights, but as members of a living community. Quality of life is
measured by whether the individual can live within a community
where they can feel at home, know their place, and can be
themselves. Thus their focus is on the well-being of the very
community they live in.

This community is, of course, structured and of different
intensity and claim to allegiance. With this community one shares
the good and bad things of life. A Javanese proverb says: "It
does not matter whether we have something to eat or not, the main
thing is, we are together!" In difficulties, or when need arises,
neighbors gladly help each other.

Most Indonesians are not "fighters for social justice". They
have learned not to get excited over generally bad or unjust
conditions. They care about their concrete community, not about a
"cause". If they encounter suffering, except in the close circle
of the family, they do not so much show compassion than concern
and sympathy. They also help the stranger who needs help. One
does not leave somebody alone who cannot help themselves.

On the village level equality is regarded as a very high
value. When former villagers that have attained high government
positions visit their village, they set a high value on being
treated just as one of the villagers; as human beings, villagers
are equal, and this is a deeply felt value.

On the other hand, feudal relationships of higher and lower
positions still play an important role in Indonesian society.
Thus differences in wealth, lifestyle and luxury are, by
themselves, not offensive. But with these differences there has
to go a certain behavior: While the lower ones show respect, the
higher ones acknowledge their responsibility for the wellbeing of
the lower ones by providing social services and, generally
speaking, demonstrating that their higher positions are also
beneficial for the community as a whole.

Thus, not wealth and luxury in themselves contradict
Indonesian values, but when they exist together with blatant
poverty and destitution. Differences in wealth, influence and
social status are accepted, but only as long as nobody within the
same region falls into subhuman conditions. Thus, for instance,
the ongoing expansion of golf courses, while surrounding people
are crammed into dingy plots, is felt as unjust and offensive.

Disregard by those profiting from a fortunate fate towards the
rest of the community shows a loss of the fundamental sense of
community unity and is therefore unjust and morally wrong. Thus the
existence of an upper class of super-rich people, living very visibly
in their own world, surrounded by facilities that are completely out
of the reach of ordinary people, is regarded as an unjust,
metaphysically unstable condition, which will come to an end at a
destined time.

The strongest feelings of injustice are elicited when the
procuring of facilities for the wealthy and powerful is achieved by
destroying the livelihood of common people. Thus when they lose their
huts, and very often also their livelihood [because they had it in
their neighborhood from which they were ousted],
in order to make room for big projects, or when their agricultural
land is taken over, all with quite insufficient compensation.

Such experiences result in deep, ongoing feelings of being
treated unjustly. Such a state of affairs should, in the opinion of
common people, not go on. Maybe their deepest feelings can be
expressed in this way: "We, the people, have always treated you with
respect, we have not envied you for your wealth and fortunate
conditions, we have acknowledged that you are important for society,
and now you treat us as garbage, you have no regard for our very
modest needs, you kick us out, you destroy us: this is not right, it
cries to heaven!"

How long do they have to cry until somebody listens?

The writer, a Jesuit priest, is a professor of philosophy at
Driyarkara School of Philosophy and University of Indonesia, Jakarta.