Never too late to hear the cry of the people

By Soedjati Djiwandono

JAKARTA (JP): On my way to the Juanda airport in Surabaya recently it was dawn and I asked the taxi driver if he had stayed up all night.

"Yes, sir. I only earned Rp 6,000 the whole day yesterday because of traffic jams everywhere caused by demonstrations. I am a member of the United Development Party, sir. But I don't mind at all, so that justice may prevail," he said, referring to the forums held by supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the dethroned leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

On previous occasion, during a taxi drive in Yogyakarta, the taxi driver started a conversation by asking what I thought of the current situation. I said I was quite concerned and worried.

He then volunteered his own opinion, "Never mind, sir, it's just like flying a kite. We keep the line loose and it will fly as high as possible into the sky. But against strong winds, the line will snap and it will plunge back to earth. We just have to be patient."

During still another taxi drive, this time in Jakarta, the taxi driver slowed down as we approach a wealthy residential area.

He said, "Do you see the big house over there on the left, sir? I have noticed that it has been renovated a number of times over the past year. I don't understand why. But what a difference. Here I am, having to work hard everyday for long hours on end, just to get enough food for my family. And out there, a rich guy seems to have so much money he does not know what to do with it!"

I do not remember exactly how I responded to the seemingly casual and jovial remarks of those people. Were they joking? Were they serious? Was I afraid to comment? Did I feel guilty? And in all sincerity, did I understand what those people were really talking about, and were they talking about the same thing? Or did I refuse to hear and understand?

Thinking back, they were simple words expressed from the simple logic of the man in the street: neither very sophisticated, nor highly educated, and obviously not rich. But they spoke of something the common people understand: of justice, of a change toward greater justice.

By contrast, my comfortable life, at least most probably in comparison to theirs, has made me deaf and blind. Perhaps my intellectual arrogance has made me dumb, turning a blind eye to the plight of such men and women. Am I, or are they, among the alienated?

Some fleeting thoughts crossed my devious mind: "Are they perhaps 'communists' or those exploited by communists planning an "insurrection" to overthrow the government?"

Then my arrogance got the better of me. I argued with myself: "Of course not, don't be ridiculous. Not these people. I spent a decade in prestigious universities in capitalist countries studying communism and international communism, its strategy and tact, graduating with first, second and third degrees. I have been engaged in debates and discussions with dozens of communist scholars and intellectuals from different communist countries. Yet I can't claim to know everything about it. Don't kid yourself!"

How on earth, at the very least, would they overthrow a government without the support of the military? The "people power" in the Philippines, that overthrew the Marcos regime, was successful because at the right time the armed forces, under the leadership of Gen. Fidel Ramos (now president), changed sides with the people, as did the then secretary for defense Juan Enrille.

This was one of the primary forces behind people power in that country. And the so-called "student power" against the Old Order regime in Indonesia in the mid-1960s would have been meaningless without the backing of the military, just as the case in some other countries. I don't know. I am not sure of anything anymore. I am confused. Well, who isn't these days?

The writer is a member of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta.