Leaders wanted

Leaders wanted

Shortly before he left for China, President Abdurrahman Wahid
called on the public to start holding dialogs to help end
conflicts and unrest in the regions. Many among us were
astonished at this call and tended to view it as yet another of
Abdurrahman's loose remarks. Some felt the President was passing
the buck to the public, as if the unrest was none of the
government's business.

Considered rationally, though, Abdurrahman, or Gus Dur, may
not be so very wrong. After all, the unrest in Ambon and in a few
other areas -- Aceh being an exception -- began as differences
between communal groups and only flared into open conflict
because of provocateurs.

So, Gus Dur may be right. But can the people carry out his
instructions? Holding dialogs is a good idea, but one that is not
easy to realize since it is difficult even to select the people
who should lead them. Why is this difficult? Because this nation
has lost its talent for leadership. This is true from the
national level down to the district and village levels.

This fact represents one of the worst catastrophes brought
about by the New Order regime. Whether intentionally or not, the
New Order was most effective in erasing the talent for leadership
at all levels of society.

-- Rakyat Merdeka, Jakarta