Nobel prize laureates
Nobel prize laureates
East Timor's Bishop Belo came to Jakarta the other day and met
with Moslem leader Abdurrahman Wahid and the Indonesian
Democratic Party's ousted leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.
What they discussed and the statement they issued jointly
after the meeting are already known to you. As I write this, what
first springs to mind, on my part at least, is not the political
impact that their call for national consensus might bring. I also
do not feel inclined to comment on the referendum issue the three
leaders almost in chorus advocated.
Belo's visit shockingly reminded me that he is, in fact, a
Nobel Prize winner for peace, though shared with another East
Timorese in exile. Whether we like it or not, it was a
"diplomatic slap" in the face of the foreign minister when the
choice was announced. For the first time, two Indonesians had
been awarded a prize for peace by the prestigious Nobel
Institute. To Indonesia, and to most Indonesians, the prize was
given, as it were, to the wrong persons (at least to one of them
in exile) at the wrong time.
It seems unlikely that in the foreseeable future, any other
Indonesian, even with the geniuses among them, will receive that
honor (I do sincerely hope I am incorrect!).
The great number of people calling themselves "intellectuals"
is no guarantee that among these distinguished citizens a new
Nobel Prize laureate will eventually emerge. It is beyond my
"nonintellectual" (to which group writers, journalists and
publishers apparently belong) comprehension that some are so
eager to call themselves religious oriented intellectuals. True,
they distinguish themselves from the general "uneducated" public.
But is it not also true that they consider themselves to some
extent aloof and separate from the rest of society. Is
intellectualism inherent to wisdom and "better" than those only
culturally imbued minds?
Indonesia has no shortage of intellectuals but what the nation
needs is leaders whose minds transcends the national boundaries,
who heatedly, not half-heartedly, just for the sake of political
publicity, put themselves in the service of others, even if they
gain nothing in return. The nation needs people with high
integrity that others can always rely on.
How barren does the soil feel and look of people considering
themselves to belong to the vast international community; part of
one single humanity and civilization and thought. To act
accordingly, humbly and unshaken when it concerns principles,
more humble and less greedy, proud to sacrifice, regarding honor
instead of profit and personal gain as their ultimate and main
pursuit in life.
In the past, colonial bondage produced leaders with a great
mind and universal spirit who heroically defied poverty. Now that
this nation no longer breathes the air of colonial slavery and is
blessed with freedom to think and act, greater and broader-minded
-- but not necessarily materially wealthier -- Indonesians, it
must not be hard to find persons who are worthy of a Nobel Prize.
GANDHI SUKARDI
Jakarta