Leaders must be responsive, but not thin-skinned

Leaders must be responsive, but not thin-skinned

Ardimas Sasdi
Jakarta

Referring to the diatribes launched by some of the nation's
most senior leaders in response to criticism, The Jakarta Post
rightly observed recently that it is not easy being a democrat.

Leaders in a democracy, where the supreme power lies with the
people, must be responsive and learn to accept sometimes harsh
criticism by the people. Also, there is no place in a democracy
for absolutism, which is more suited to an autocracy.

The dramatic change from Soeharto's autocracy to democracy,
which began eight years ago, has required a change in the
attitudes of state officials. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
is aware of this, and has tried hard to become a true democrat.

Responding to the people's concerns about corruption, Susilo
has launched an ambitious drive to excise this cancerous social
ill. Hundreds of people involved in corruption, including "big
fish" like ministers, governors, regents and lawmakers, have been
tried in court for graft.

Susilo's administration also has been quick to respond to
natural disasters and security problems. Religious violence in
Maluku and Central Sulawesi is no longer a major threat. But the
major achievement of Susilo's government has been the signing of
a peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement to end a 30-year
separatist rebellion in Aceh.

Susilo also has been successful in promoting a sense of
urgency since day one in office. Ministers now drive Japanese-
made Toyota Camrys instead of the more expensive Swiss-made
Volvos, which were the official cars of Cabinet members in the
administrations of the five presidents who came before Susilo.

Another part of the austerity drive has seen the Vice
President and ministers switch from expensive suits to batik
shirts.

These achievements, if we can call them that, however, are
just like drops of water in the ocean. The people, who have been
struggling since the 1997 financial crisis, want to see fast and
significant changes. They want proof that things are improving
economically, not empty promises.

The economic crisis also created new social problems --
poverty, unemployment and a rising crime rate. Brawls between
people of different neighborhoods and villages have become more
common, as people have seemingly become more sensitive and
irrational.

And conditions are not improving from day to day, but rather
are worsening, especially after the government raised fuel prices
by an average of 120 percent in October. That was the highest
increase since fuel prices were raised in 1998, which sparked
nationwide protests that brought down Soeharto.

Investment, which is needed to spur economic growth and
generate jobs, is has not recovered from the crisis as investors
continue to view Indonesia as an unattractive destination because
of a lack of incentives, weak legal system and a corrupt
bureaucracy.

Citizens, who pay their taxes, are left by the government to
manage their own affairs. They have to build and repair drainage
systems and roads, and handle garbage disposal in their
residential areas.

People also have to pay various forms of illegal fees to state
officials to get ID cards, passports, driver's licenses, vehicle
documents and business permits. They have no choice but to pay
for the fees to corrupt officials if they want their documents
processed in time.

In addition, people have to pay a handsome amount of money for
their children's education, including primary and secondary
school, even though Indonesia has supposedly introduced a free,
nine-year compulsory education plan. Education, especially a
quality one, remains an unaffordable luxury for many people.

Some people can send their children to college, but they have
to empty out their savings accounts, sell their cattle, land and
even houses.

The large gap in the quality and facilities of schools is
another problem. Many school buildings in rural areas are so
dilapidated that it affects the learning process. Some schools
resemble the "chicken coops" described by Winarno Surachmad in a
poem he read during the 60th anniversary of National Teacher's
Day recently, which angered Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

By coincidence, or not, a week later the normally cool
President Susilo, in a rare outburst, told Indonesians to see the
country in a positive light. Susilo was irritated by an
Indonesian student who, during a meeting with the Indonesian
community in New Delhi, India, asked the government to provide
all students with an affordable education, like India.

That Indonesia is lagging behind other countries in education
is common knowledge. I had the privilege to visit over 14 top
Canadian universities in 2002, and to do research at the
University of California at Berkeley (UCB) the following year. I
was upset to find very few representatives of Indonesia, a
country of 225 million people, at these institutions. At UCB,
known in Indonesia as the school of the "Berkeley Mafia" of
economists, there were fewer Indonesians in graduate programs
than students from Lebanon, a country of just four million
people.

We cannot raise our heads abroad, just as President Susilo was
embarrassed by the fact of endemic corruption in Indonesia.

The task of a government in a country in transition to
democracy is gigantic, but the people's burden is even larger. It
is the people, not the government, who should complain when there
is no light at the end of the tunnel to mark the approaching end
of the economic crisis. Moreover, criticism is feedback and part
of political communication.

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, speaking for a caucus
of two presidents, one vice president, a former speaker of the
House of Representatives and a former presidential candidate, had
a message for the government: "Leaders must not be tipis telinga
(thin-skinned)", but responsive.

The writer is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post and a
lecturer on the ethics and philosophy of communication at the
Department of Communications, the University of Indonesia. He can
be reached at ardi05@thejakartapost.com.