Looking for Habibie factor

According to Buckminster Fuller, the famous American philosopher and scientist, synergy "means behavior of integral, aggregate, whole systems unpredicted by behaviors of any of their components or subassemblies of their components taken separately from the whole". The universe is omnisynergetic. It is an open system and operates on the basis of antientropy. Nothing is lost in the universe.

In applying this concept of synergy, our national critical failure appears to be a direct result of a nonsynergetic operational governmental system. Each part of the government system operates independently of each other although seemingly harmonious and united under the facade of "loyalty to the central government". This was achieved by handpicking those community leaders, governors, representatives, etc. who would support the government through loyalty, obedience and "mutual understanding".

Leaders are primarily not elected by the people. Synergy can occur only if there is an open communication and link between people and the government. Since there is no synergy, the phenomenon of corruption, collusion and nepotism -- known by the Indonesian acronym KKN -- can be understood. This loss (entropy) is the price you pay for running a closed and nonsynergetic system.

For synergy to occur, the forces of the macrosystem and microsystem structures have to interact in the same way to form economic equilibrium patternings. The government has a duty to create a system that will enhance synergetic operation of the nation so waste will not occur. If President Habibie was able to predict down to details the phenomenon of metal fatigue and cracks, known as the Habibie factor, then he should be expected to be able to calculate and develop a governmental system that would allow a synergetic operation to occur. This could be called the "Habibie factor No. 2", assuming that he succeeds in coming up with the mathematical formula of the Indonesian synergetic system.

I think we all should support him to come up with the formula so that all the entropic phenomena in Indonesia such as futile undue deaths, killings, starvation, riots, violent demonstrations, KKN, layoffs, natural disasters, crimes, economic deterioration, repressive security measures, pollution, etc. could be minimized. To do that, President Habibie needs only to open direct dialog with people such as students, rectors, professors, scientists, philosophers and spiritual leaders.

Why not open a weekly radio talk show? He needs to be directly accessible to the people to hear them and not surrounded by the bureaucratic, antisynergetic energy clouds.

K. PRIBADI

Cimahi, West Java