Managing pluralism central to Indonesian democracy

Managing pluralism central to Indonesian democracy

Democracy remains something of a novelty in pluralistic
Indonesia. Robert W. Hefner, professor of anthropology at Boston
University, talked with The Jakarta Post's Soeryo Winoto on the
country's efforts to ensure that democracy takes root here. The
author of The Politics of Multiculturalism: Pluralism and
Citizenship in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (2001) addressed
a one-day seminar on Tuesday on pluralistic democracy and
religious tolerance sponsored by the Center for Media Studies of
the Jakarta-based Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University. The
following are excerpts from the interview:

Question: Is Indonesia heading for a "pluralistic democracy"?

Answer: Well, I wasn't so much saying today that I'm confident
that Indonesia is moving toward pluralistic democracy as much as
that I think that's one of the options being promoted by the
people, particularly a number of people in the Muslim community,
but also in the Christian and other religious communities.

Whether the outcome of that will be a genuine and effective
pluralistic democracy will depend on the Indonesians themselves.

Are there any real efforts being made by the government toward
such ends?

There was a feature of accommodating pluralistic democracy
under Soeharto's regime; the basis was the ideological formula of
Pancasila. And many of its features many regard as still very
praiseworthy ... But many came to say that Pancasila was a forced
ideology ... and many feel it's time to open up.

The outcome of the discussion ... is no longer limited to a
small elite ... there's pressure for something that's pluralist
in the democratic social order emanating from political reality.

Because if the formula (of pluralism) isn't devised to deal
with the great pluralism here, the social cost will be enormous.
But the lesson people see from (the conflicts in) Maluku, Central
Sulawesi, Central and West Kalimantan is that there has to be
renewed commitment, and some kind of common platform. A platform
capable of bridging ethnic and regional divides, and also capable
of uniting people across the differences in religions.

How do you see religious tolerance here so far?

If we compare Indonesia not just with other parts of the
Muslim world, but with other pluralist countries, the answer is
equivocally positive. Indonesia has a proven tradition of
pluralism and accommodation, a historical pattern of openness ...
to outside influence ... that was part of Indonesian culture
assimilating in a peaceful way -- new educational traditions, new
cultural traditions, new technologies ... But I think Indonesia
still has a recurring problem that we saw in the 1950s.

We've seen it again in the post-Soeharto period, a tendency of
some groups to attempt to go against the traditional pluralism,
and it scales up tension between groups so as to reap the
benefits of political division for their "fishing expedition" to
inflame ethno-religious tension. Most Indonesians are deeply
upset ... recognizing that if this continues it would have an
extremely negative effect on national unity and national culture.

How and to what extent does politicization of religion affect
religious tolerance?

When religion is turned into a political commodity used in a
very low way for mundane political ends, the impact on religious
tolerance is unequivocally negative.

When religion is used to color positive values like social
justice, equality, religion can play a very important role in the
public sphere. But to play that role it has to be one channeled
in a "high politics" way, not in the way of crude patron-client
(relations) ... so every effort must be made to be avoid the
politicization of very simple issues and basic issues of faith.

Many say that we now have a "pseudo pluralistic democracy".
Any comment?

Is the democracy real? Is it a pluralist democracy?

There's been great progress since 1998. But the ground which
had to be covered and which remains to be covered is still great.

Some institutions such the press have made great strides ...
But in some areas, such as regional conflicts, there have been
setbacks. The setbacks in terms of the management of pluralist
differences have also been setbacks for democratization because
the key to long term democratization, and long term political
stability, is devising some kind of common platform for the
managing of ethnic and religious differences.

Indonesia is not going to become less pluralistic because
modernization and development brings groups that were previously
not integral into the development process ... so that people who
were once ignored cannot be ignored anymore.

In whatever democracy we live in we have to begin with the
recognition of the central challenge of democracy, the positive
accommodation of pluralism ...

And as society becomes more modern, as people become more
homogeneous, people want to express themselves, this is a good
part of a people coming of age. It's also not easy in the West,
it requires time and patience, and a common platform to manage.
So from very kompak (solid) groups like Nahdlatul Ulama (the
country's largest Muslim organization), we'll see greater
diversity ... also in Muhammadiyah (the second largest Muslim
organization).

How should political parties promote religious tolerance?

Politics is not just about winning elections, or building
parties. It's also about building a culture that transcends a
single election and transcends the interest of any single party.

It's about building a framework for accommodating differences
in any political order and making sure that those differences are
not regarded as something that comes down to a zero sum game --
but something that can be managed within an open and fair
competition without making those people who lose momentarily,
permanent losers. And the way one has to do that is by
structuring basic rights ... so elections themselves continue to
consolidate a culture of democracy and pluralism, which accepts
the rights of people to differ on basic issues.

Indonesians may now be in a "cultural, social and political"
shock, as some scholars say, and trying to live in what they
claim is a democratic way. Your comment?

There is no single way. One way is for religious leaders to go
back to the religious traditions which emphasize a single
creator, a single humanity with common human dignity. That's an
important message, a religious message, not a political message
-- a "religious humanism" which has its roots in Indonesia.

You can go to a distant kampong and you will find people who
at a very elementary level have deep religiosity -- that extends
to the recognition of people as humans, and as people who have a
certain dignity ... There is a great tradition of that in
Indonesia ... among Muslims and non-Muslims.

But there also has to be a kind of frank acknowledgement from
political leaders that there are limits in political competitions
that we don't transgress because to do so would damage the larger
interest of Indonesia and the larger interest of democracy.

One of the greatest accomplishments in social history from
1945 and before 1955 was the sweet dream of Indonesian
nationalism. And I know the dream has suffered particularly over
the last five years. But it remains a sweet hope for many
ordinary Indonesians.

I feel it when I travel in the countryside ... one hopes
politicians, rather than exploiting such human resources, would
respect and acknowledge it, emphasizing that however one is
different on political issues there is a commonality that one is
Indonesian. This is a commonality that has to be nurtured and
protected, a vital resource that suffered from certain trauma,
but with proper cultivation it can play a major role of creating
a common platform of political civility.