Liddle criticizes Indonesia out of concern
<p>Liddle criticizes Indonesia out of concern</p><p>By Santi W.E. Soekanto</p><p> JAKARTA (JP): Can people actually criticize something out of
love, and not out of spite?</p><p>This question applies to R. William Liddle, a prominent expert
on Indonesia from Ohio State University, whose analyses on local
social and political issues often earn him either praise or the
wrath of various parties.</p><p>Though probably not intentionally, Liddle must often have
proven that people really can criticize something for some reason
other than spite. He says he makes his corrective remarks out of
concern for Indonesia.</p><p>"I'm really afraid for Indonesia's future," he said before
launching into a lengthy analysis of the difficulties emerging
from Indonesia's political climate and how to redress the
problems.</p><p>As for love, a number of people have expressed their belief
that Liddle does love Indonesia and criticizes only because he
wishes to see improvement.</p><p>"Whenever I talk to him, I feel like I'm talking to a 'real'
Indonesian," Salomo Simanungkalit, a reporter at Kompas daily,
whom Liddle adopted many years ago, said. "Sometimes, he's even
more Indonesian than our people."</p><p>It's not that he ever publicly declared his "love" for
Indonesia, but a description of Liddle by political scientist
Burhan Magenda might very well fit him.</p><p>Burhan once defined Liddle and several other experts on Asia,
including America's George McTurnan Kahin, Daniel Lev, Clifford
Geertz and Australia's Jamie Mackie and Herb Feith, as the
"Indonesian lobby" abroad.</p><p>"This group consists of experts who are critical and yet also
an early and staunch 'lobby' for Indonesia," Burhan wrote in
Kompas daily more than a decade ago.</p><p>"These (scientists) can be described as having made Indonesia
their 'second homeland', so that it should never be doubted that
their love for Indonesia extends beyond the boundaries of
political and administrative periods.</p><p>"They are critical enough of both the (past) Guided Democracy
administration and of the (current) New Order administration,
although it can be said that they are sincere supporters of the
New Order, especially because of its economic development
programs," Burhan wrote.</p><p>"But it can't be denied that many of them are disappointed
with several early policies of the New Order administration,
which were later changed, concerning, for example, the freedom to
assemble and political protection for the weak.</p><p>"With their criticism, the group are basically loyal friends
of Indonesia," Burhan wrote.</p><p>On a more personal level, Liddle shows signs of his deep
attachment, probably affection, for Indonesia, by immersing
himself in the local culture.</p><p>One possible reason is the fact that he has personal ties with
Indonesia. His eldest son, Dallas, was born in Simalungun
regency, North Sumatra, 32 years ago, when Liddle was conducting
his first research study of Indonesia.</p><p>He speaks the Indonesian language fluently and he loves
wayang, the traditional shadow puppetry.</p><p>He was very encouraged when his second child, Craig, now 30,
came to Indonesia and learned Javanese traditional dances from
prominent choreographer Bagong Kussudiardjo.</p><p>And he cooks rendang -- a traditional dish of meat simmered in
spices and coconut milk, a specialty of the West Sumatran people
-- for his family back home in the United States. And he refuses
to use instant coconut milk for this purpose. He buys dried
grated coconut, instead.</p><p>"I'm not a stupid cook," he told Salomo when the latter
suggested that it might be easier for him to buy instant coconut
milk.</p><p>According to Salomo, Liddle even has a monthly routine of
introducing his two younger children, Catherine and Adam, to
Indonesian culture through his cooking.</p><p>He even calls Catherine, now 9, by the nickname Cut, in the
traditional Acehnese way of addressing female royalty. At the
time she was born, Liddle was teaching at the Syah Kuala
University in Banda Aceh.</p><p>Controversy</p><p> Liddle studied Southeast Asia at Yale University and chose
Indonesian studies as his specialty there. He obtained his Ph. D.
degree from the same university, and has been a Foreign Area
Training Fellow, a Carnegie New Nations Fellow at the University
of Chicago, and a Ford Foundation Southeast Asia Fellow.</p><p>From 1973-1976, he was chairman of the Indonesia Studies
Committee of the Association for Asian Studies and participated
in the creation of the Indonesia Studies Summer Institute in
Madison, Wisconsin.</p><p>In the course of over two decades, Liddle has written numerous
books and articles on Indonesia, which are often critical of its
social and political development.</p><p>His publications, based on extensive research in various parts
of Indonesia since 1962, include Ethnicity, Party and National
Integration: An Indonesian Case Study (1970), and Political
Participation in Modern Indonesia (1973).</p><p>Liddle also lectures in various places, appears to be always
ready with answers on various issues, and never shies away from
sensitive questions, such as the succession of national
leadership and the role of religion in politics.</p><p>There are always countless reasons for people to criticize a
person, and Liddle seems to have managed to draw a fair amount of
controversy because he is never reluctant to show "whose side" he
is on.</p><p>When he criticizes, he does it sharply, even to the point
where people might interpret the remarks as instigation. When he
praises, he does so in such a generous way that sometimes people
are led to believe that he is unfair, or, even worse, a blind
supporter of some causes.</p><p>"To me, East Timor is not a part of Indonesia," he said
unflinchingly about the sensitive issue of Indonesia's youngest
province.</p><p>He made this remark just a few days after being accused of
supporting the status quo in Indonesian politics because he said
he preferred not to see a change of national leadership in 1998
for the sake of "political stability".</p><p>If one follows his writings and subsequent public reactions to
them, it is relatively easy to note that he draws the most wrath
whenever he speaks about religion, especially Islam.</p><p>Islamic state</p><p> A good example of such incidents was the time he wrote in the
Ulumul Qur'an Moslem publication about whether Indonesian Moslems
still pursued the notion of an Islamic state and concerning the
role of the Media Dakwah Moslem magazine in voicing Moslems'
political aspirations in the New Order government.</p><p>He basically attempted to show that a group of "moderate"
Moslems, led by prolific writer and thinker Nurcholish Madjid,
has adjusted to the idea that an Islamic state is not necessary,
while another group, the "scripturalists", stubbornly held on to
the concept.</p><p>"For Media Dakwah, the idea of an Islamic state lives on, even
if it reveals (the concept) more carefully," Liddle wrote.</p><p>The magazine and a number of Moslem leaders, including Amien
Rais of the Muhammadiyah Moslem organization, reacted strongly to
Liddle's article.</p><p>Instigating</p><p> The conclusion of those who opposed him was that Liddle had
been "instigating" and pitting one group of Moslems against
another.</p><p>"Is Media Dakwah `scripturalist'? If by that term Liddle means
the magazine and its supporters are loyal followers of the Holy
Koran and the Prophet's sunnah (examples, tradition), then our
answer is definitely 'yes'," the magazine wrote. "If what Liddle
means by `scripturalist' is an asocial attitude of anti-
intellectualism, we strongly refute it."</p><p>Liddle, however, did not seem to mind the criticism very much.
When reminded about it, he shrugs.</p><p>Neither does he seem to plan to change course and speak more
"carefully".</p><p>During a discussion at The Jakarta Post early this week, he
casually said that, in his opinion, Indonesia will fare better
politically in the future if it takes moderate approaches and
avoids polarization among groups in society at all cost.</p><p>For instance, he suggested it would be better if "moderate"
Moslem communities, led by figures such as thinker and writer
Nurcholish Madjid, played greater roles than "the militant
Moslems" now emerging on university campuses.</p><p>On another occasion, he examined the content of the Republika
daily, published by a foundation established by the powerful
Indonesian Association of Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), for two
months and later concluded that it does not represent the
political aspirations of Moslems, especially the middle class.</p><p>He illustrated how a friend of his once counted the newspapers
used by Moslems as their prayer mats during one Idul Fitri
prayer, and found only a small number of Republika. The most-used
newspapers, instead, were Kompas and Suara Pembaruan.</p><p>He concluded that the Moslem middle class preferred those two
dailies over the Moslem-based Republika because the latter was
less than adequate in meeting their needs for quality reading and
for a venue for their political aspirations.</p><p>Such bold analysis and approach, which to some people might
seem to be simplistic, is probably the reason why his statements
often become controversial.</p><p>"Liddle is not an expert on Islam, so he should stick to
political analysis," a reader of his writings commented.</p><p>But Liddle may not agree. In the discussion at the Post, he
pointed out that there are at least three interrelated social
factors which should be examined by an observer of a country to
enable that scholar to really understand the development of the
nation in questions.</p><p>These factors are potential conflicts arising from the
interplay between religion and politics, the middle and working
classes, and regional concern, as opposed to central government
policies, he said.</p><p>He said he intended to study and write more about those
factors in Indonesia, so it's likely that he'll continue to
create more controversies here.</p>
love, and not out of spite?</p><p>This question applies to R. William Liddle, a prominent expert
on Indonesia from Ohio State University, whose analyses on local
social and political issues often earn him either praise or the
wrath of various parties.</p><p>Though probably not intentionally, Liddle must often have
proven that people really can criticize something for some reason
other than spite. He says he makes his corrective remarks out of
concern for Indonesia.</p><p>"I'm really afraid for Indonesia's future," he said before
launching into a lengthy analysis of the difficulties emerging
from Indonesia's political climate and how to redress the
problems.</p><p>As for love, a number of people have expressed their belief
that Liddle does love Indonesia and criticizes only because he
wishes to see improvement.</p><p>"Whenever I talk to him, I feel like I'm talking to a 'real'
Indonesian," Salomo Simanungkalit, a reporter at Kompas daily,
whom Liddle adopted many years ago, said. "Sometimes, he's even
more Indonesian than our people."</p><p>It's not that he ever publicly declared his "love" for
Indonesia, but a description of Liddle by political scientist
Burhan Magenda might very well fit him.</p><p>Burhan once defined Liddle and several other experts on Asia,
including America's George McTurnan Kahin, Daniel Lev, Clifford
Geertz and Australia's Jamie Mackie and Herb Feith, as the
"Indonesian lobby" abroad.</p><p>"This group consists of experts who are critical and yet also
an early and staunch 'lobby' for Indonesia," Burhan wrote in
Kompas daily more than a decade ago.</p><p>"These (scientists) can be described as having made Indonesia
their 'second homeland', so that it should never be doubted that
their love for Indonesia extends beyond the boundaries of
political and administrative periods.</p><p>"They are critical enough of both the (past) Guided Democracy
administration and of the (current) New Order administration,
although it can be said that they are sincere supporters of the
New Order, especially because of its economic development
programs," Burhan wrote.</p><p>"But it can't be denied that many of them are disappointed
with several early policies of the New Order administration,
which were later changed, concerning, for example, the freedom to
assemble and political protection for the weak.</p><p>"With their criticism, the group are basically loyal friends
of Indonesia," Burhan wrote.</p><p>On a more personal level, Liddle shows signs of his deep
attachment, probably affection, for Indonesia, by immersing
himself in the local culture.</p><p>One possible reason is the fact that he has personal ties with
Indonesia. His eldest son, Dallas, was born in Simalungun
regency, North Sumatra, 32 years ago, when Liddle was conducting
his first research study of Indonesia.</p><p>He speaks the Indonesian language fluently and he loves
wayang, the traditional shadow puppetry.</p><p>He was very encouraged when his second child, Craig, now 30,
came to Indonesia and learned Javanese traditional dances from
prominent choreographer Bagong Kussudiardjo.</p><p>And he cooks rendang -- a traditional dish of meat simmered in
spices and coconut milk, a specialty of the West Sumatran people
-- for his family back home in the United States. And he refuses
to use instant coconut milk for this purpose. He buys dried
grated coconut, instead.</p><p>"I'm not a stupid cook," he told Salomo when the latter
suggested that it might be easier for him to buy instant coconut
milk.</p><p>According to Salomo, Liddle even has a monthly routine of
introducing his two younger children, Catherine and Adam, to
Indonesian culture through his cooking.</p><p>He even calls Catherine, now 9, by the nickname Cut, in the
traditional Acehnese way of addressing female royalty. At the
time she was born, Liddle was teaching at the Syah Kuala
University in Banda Aceh.</p><p>Controversy</p><p> Liddle studied Southeast Asia at Yale University and chose
Indonesian studies as his specialty there. He obtained his Ph. D.
degree from the same university, and has been a Foreign Area
Training Fellow, a Carnegie New Nations Fellow at the University
of Chicago, and a Ford Foundation Southeast Asia Fellow.</p><p>From 1973-1976, he was chairman of the Indonesia Studies
Committee of the Association for Asian Studies and participated
in the creation of the Indonesia Studies Summer Institute in
Madison, Wisconsin.</p><p>In the course of over two decades, Liddle has written numerous
books and articles on Indonesia, which are often critical of its
social and political development.</p><p>His publications, based on extensive research in various parts
of Indonesia since 1962, include Ethnicity, Party and National
Integration: An Indonesian Case Study (1970), and Political
Participation in Modern Indonesia (1973).</p><p>Liddle also lectures in various places, appears to be always
ready with answers on various issues, and never shies away from
sensitive questions, such as the succession of national
leadership and the role of religion in politics.</p><p>There are always countless reasons for people to criticize a
person, and Liddle seems to have managed to draw a fair amount of
controversy because he is never reluctant to show "whose side" he
is on.</p><p>When he criticizes, he does it sharply, even to the point
where people might interpret the remarks as instigation. When he
praises, he does so in such a generous way that sometimes people
are led to believe that he is unfair, or, even worse, a blind
supporter of some causes.</p><p>"To me, East Timor is not a part of Indonesia," he said
unflinchingly about the sensitive issue of Indonesia's youngest
province.</p><p>He made this remark just a few days after being accused of
supporting the status quo in Indonesian politics because he said
he preferred not to see a change of national leadership in 1998
for the sake of "political stability".</p><p>If one follows his writings and subsequent public reactions to
them, it is relatively easy to note that he draws the most wrath
whenever he speaks about religion, especially Islam.</p><p>Islamic state</p><p> A good example of such incidents was the time he wrote in the
Ulumul Qur'an Moslem publication about whether Indonesian Moslems
still pursued the notion of an Islamic state and concerning the
role of the Media Dakwah Moslem magazine in voicing Moslems'
political aspirations in the New Order government.</p><p>He basically attempted to show that a group of "moderate"
Moslems, led by prolific writer and thinker Nurcholish Madjid,
has adjusted to the idea that an Islamic state is not necessary,
while another group, the "scripturalists", stubbornly held on to
the concept.</p><p>"For Media Dakwah, the idea of an Islamic state lives on, even
if it reveals (the concept) more carefully," Liddle wrote.</p><p>The magazine and a number of Moslem leaders, including Amien
Rais of the Muhammadiyah Moslem organization, reacted strongly to
Liddle's article.</p><p>Instigating</p><p> The conclusion of those who opposed him was that Liddle had
been "instigating" and pitting one group of Moslems against
another.</p><p>"Is Media Dakwah `scripturalist'? If by that term Liddle means
the magazine and its supporters are loyal followers of the Holy
Koran and the Prophet's sunnah (examples, tradition), then our
answer is definitely 'yes'," the magazine wrote. "If what Liddle
means by `scripturalist' is an asocial attitude of anti-
intellectualism, we strongly refute it."</p><p>Liddle, however, did not seem to mind the criticism very much.
When reminded about it, he shrugs.</p><p>Neither does he seem to plan to change course and speak more
"carefully".</p><p>During a discussion at The Jakarta Post early this week, he
casually said that, in his opinion, Indonesia will fare better
politically in the future if it takes moderate approaches and
avoids polarization among groups in society at all cost.</p><p>For instance, he suggested it would be better if "moderate"
Moslem communities, led by figures such as thinker and writer
Nurcholish Madjid, played greater roles than "the militant
Moslems" now emerging on university campuses.</p><p>On another occasion, he examined the content of the Republika
daily, published by a foundation established by the powerful
Indonesian Association of Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), for two
months and later concluded that it does not represent the
political aspirations of Moslems, especially the middle class.</p><p>He illustrated how a friend of his once counted the newspapers
used by Moslems as their prayer mats during one Idul Fitri
prayer, and found only a small number of Republika. The most-used
newspapers, instead, were Kompas and Suara Pembaruan.</p><p>He concluded that the Moslem middle class preferred those two
dailies over the Moslem-based Republika because the latter was
less than adequate in meeting their needs for quality reading and
for a venue for their political aspirations.</p><p>Such bold analysis and approach, which to some people might
seem to be simplistic, is probably the reason why his statements
often become controversial.</p><p>"Liddle is not an expert on Islam, so he should stick to
political analysis," a reader of his writings commented.</p><p>But Liddle may not agree. In the discussion at the Post, he
pointed out that there are at least three interrelated social
factors which should be examined by an observer of a country to
enable that scholar to really understand the development of the
nation in questions.</p><p>These factors are potential conflicts arising from the
interplay between religion and politics, the middle and working
classes, and regional concern, as opposed to central government
policies, he said.</p><p>He said he intended to study and write more about those
factors in Indonesia, so it's likely that he'll continue to
create more controversies here.</p>