Nation of minions
Nation of minions
Indonesia had been called a nation of minions before the
country got its freedom in 1945. The allies also dubbed the
legendary figures, Sukarno and Hatta, as Japan's lackeys.
Establishment of the Jakarta-Beijing axis, resulting in the
outbreak of the G30S/PKI communist movement, led to Dr. Subandrio
being labeled a Chinese underling.
Gen. Soeharto was also called the CIA's underling as he
succeeded in eradicating the G30S/PKI movement with the blessing
of the CIA, while Prof. Habibie was labeled a Western puppet
because he managed to get Western junk products into Indonesia
and have them marketed here.
Even Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid was considered Israel's
lackey because he intended to establish diplomatic ties with
Israel, while Indonesians despise Zionists. Megawati, Hamzah Haz,
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Matori and Yusril are now labeled U.S.
underlings because they do not allow their citizens to perform
their religious obligations by joining a holy war in Afghanistan.
These are facts, not opinions. Yet, unlike the labeling of
Sukarno and Hatta, today it is Indonesians themselves that have
labeled their leaders, as a reflection of the political bickering
at home.
Obviously, those labeled as U.S. underlings will deny those
allegations. But people will not believe these denials.
Indonesians, particularly Muslims, have become increasingly aware
that many Islamic leaders in this country do not act in an
Islamic manner.
In this context, I simply wonder when our country may raise
its status from one of underlings to that of heroes. Muammar
Khadafi of Lybia, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Aslan Maskadoff of
Chechnya, the late Hitler of Germany, the late Mao Zedong of
China, the late George Washington of the U.S.A., Osama bin Laden
and many others have gone down in the annals of mankind as heroes
not underlings.
Isn't it better to be the king of ants rather than the tail of
an elephant? As a king of ants, very small as you may be, you are
free to go anywhere, but as the tail of an elephant, though
bigger than an ant, you must go wherever the elephant goes. Let
this be a point for us all to ponder.
SUKANTO
Jakarta