Mangunwijaya lauds ethics of Sjahrir's generation

JAKARTA (JP): Scholar Y.B. Mangunwijaya yesterday lauded the ethics upheld by Indonesia's first prime minister, Sutan Sjahrir, comparing them with prevailing misperceptions about power, state and society.

During the launch of a book about Sjahrir, Mangunwijaya described the former prime minister and his generation -- which included Indonesia's first vice-president Mohammad Hatta and former foreign minister Mohamad Roem -- as statesmen, not politicians.

"A wise man would say that politicians campaign using every means available to win an election and resort to Machiavellian methods, but statesmen use fair play in their fight for humanity, justice, rational values and the public's moral welfare," he said.

Mangunwijaya said this was also the weakness of Sjahrir and his generation.

"In a climate where fair play is not respected, where force and power guarantee what people describe as success, then statesmen are the ones who are brushed aside," he said.

Sjahrir was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, headed the Indonesian Socialist Party and served as prime minister three times.

He was arrested and jailed by then President Sukarno in 1962. Due to his weakening condition he was allowed to seek medical treatment in Switzerland, where he died in 1966.

Mangunwijaya yesterday lamented the neglect of Sjahrir by Indonesian political thinkers and welcomed the launching of the translation of Rudolf Mrazek's political biography of Sjahrir.

Mangunwijaya said the book launch is timely.

"It's appropriate in this atmosphere of violence, terror and various forms of deception, when anyone or any state official can openly throw away the rules of law and humanity in public," he said.

"For decades, our country and our nation has been engrossed in a certain climate which deliberately cloisters the role and meaning of Sjahrir," said Mangunwijaya, who is also a renowned author and social activist. (mds)