National Awakening Day

National Awakening Day

National Awakening Day, May 20, is commemorated every year to
pay homage to those Indonesians who rose as the untied nation
of Indonesia, which was still under Dutch colonial domination in
the 1920s. Indonesian nationalist leaders at that time agreed
that national liberation and independence should be brought about
by enhancing all of the levels of national education by putting
it all under one organization, or national roof.

After going through several economic crises since 1997, which
almost bankrupted the state, with a heavy national and foreign
debt burden almost choking all of our economic veins, economists
have now begin to sound more optimistic about the future of the
economy. A growth of 5 percent for the coming years has now been
officially forecast.

Such a statement indeed sounds too bold to those skeptics
among them, who mostly belong to the opposition camp. Another
strong indication of the economic improvement is the little-by-
little appreciation of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar.

It is much wiser to study the economic successes of
President Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration, such as the
bank restructuring projects, the favorable IMF report, the
response from the recent Paris Club meeting and the government's
privatization program, rather than pondering too much and too
long on the meaning of National Awakening Day, which shines like
a jewel from the past that is better put in a museum.

Nationalists should also pay attention to the growing
discontent among students and the common people, because the
government has been forced to raise the price of a number of
basic commodities like fuel and electricity rates to meet its
international commitments.

Then the nation as a whole get rid of corrupt people and
practices among its top executives through a massive national
campaign. It must be seen to that the commemoration of National
Awakening Day never turns into a social revolution of
international proportions, with or without the aid of extreme
foreign elements!

GANDHI SUKARDI

Jakarta