Looking for the cause

Looking for the cause

National leaders of various religions in the country voiced
their concerns on Wednesday of the prevailing moral crisis. After
a two-hour meeting at the headquarters of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
the country's largest Muslim educational organization, in
Jakarta, the leaders were said to have agreed on the creation of
a working committee to address "acute moral illnesses afflicting
the society."

"We shared our concerns in the meeting and agreed that the
nation is heading for all-out moral destruction," announced NU
chairman Hasyim Muzadi after the gathering. However, how the
committee would work and in what field it would operate was not
disclosed to the press.

The vow was welcomed in many circles but was also criticized
by some others. Dr. Din Syamsuddin, one of the top leaders of
Muhammadiyah, the country's modernist organization, said the
meeting itself was very positive and showed that there was
national reconciliation. But he said that the statement saying
that the nation is heading towards all-out moral destruction had
over-dramatized the real situation. Din said the statement could
create a deterioration of the real situation because it could
lead to a psychology of anxiety among the public.

Many believe that the current moral decadence is a result of
the destructive life under two dictators, presidents Sukarno and
Soeharto. Many parties and political leaders who supported
Sukarno, survived and worked under Soeharto -- except those
banned by the dictator in 1960. And supporters of Soeharto's New
Order regime are still fooling around today as the executives had
been set aside but not completely ousted through a total
revolution.

Each of the two regimes had its own educational system, which
included a political system. Both despots monopolized the
interpretation of the state ideology, called Pancasila, and the
indoctrination of all the people, from primary school to
university, was similar to communist-style brain washing. They
did not improve the mentality of the people but confused the
population.

That is why, from 1959 until now, it has been very hard to
find good examples from political leaders. Under Sukarno his
supporters were free to do anything against the people as long as
they supported his system -- the fanatical cooperation between
the Nationalists, the Religious (Muslims) and the Communists --
which was a pillar of his Guided Democracy. And under Soeharto,
corruption was not a breach of the people's trust as long as one
supported his reelection every fifth year.

Today the style is different. There is hardly any political
leader who sets a good example of moral responsibility. If he or
she fails to carry out a job and then resigns, the problems he or
she created are not necessarily solved by quitting.

So, the minister of transportation is at peace despite a
series of fatal train crashes recently. In the New Order regime,
vice president Try Sutrisno said resigning, as a way to express
moral responsibility, was not the Indonesian way. That way is not
so clear however, because even in the 1940s, three-time prime
minister Sutan Sjahrir resigned to express such responsibility.

Another example of the absence of responsibility can be seen
in the President's recent campaign of stressing that politicians
and civil servants lead a modest life. The campaign has only
managed to make some ministers change their clothes sometimes but
not to change the view of the legislator's parking lot which
looks like a car show for highly luxurious automobiles.

And the moral decay has not affected only the politicians but
also those who wield the banner of religion. A group of
"religious people" sent their followers into the streets of East
Java last year to set fire to churches and Muhammadiyah schools
just because their supreme leader in Jakarta was ousted by the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). Political statements can be
an ironic comedy, sometimes.