On concept of society

On concept of society

Is there a Bahasa Indonesia word to express the concept of
society? This question arose in Sungai Penuh recently when a
small team convened to devise the methodology for a zonation plan
for the Kerinci-Seblat National Park. We conceived "society" as
the sum of the people plus the government apparatus, institutions
etc. plus culture plus the interactions between these elements.
The concept of "society" is fundamentally holistic. National
parks are a management entity that reflects and builds values in
society concerning the human-nature relationship.

Masyarakat, the normal translation for "society", is clearly
lacking because when asked if masyarakat can include pemerintah
(government), Indonesians invariably answer with an unequivocal,
No! In general usage, masyarakat means "the people". Bangsa
(nationality) is similarly lacking because it has close
connotations with individual identity and operates at a fixed
scale.

Suku (tribe) lacks the important government/institutional
component inherent in "society". The director of the park,
Wandojo Siswanto, said that in presentations he uses Masyarakat
dalam arti luas (society in its broad meaning) to try to capture
the concept, but we all agreed that this phrase still misses the
inter-relationships between elements that is central to the
concept of "society". Kemasyarakatan seems to be the closest and
is beginning to be used for "civil society" (Kemasyarakatan
civil). However, this word is used rarely and may be closer in
meaning to "public".

If these observations are correct, I suggest they open three
important areas of discussion. 1) If the word is missing (or
rarely used) does it follow that the concept of society is absent
in contemporary Indonesia? 2) If the concept of "society" is
absent, or poorly developed, does it not follow that a
fundamental dualism exists between "the people" and government?
3) Can current initiatives in the areas of justice and democracy
succeed without a widespread public understanding of the concept
of "society"? As an entry point to such a discussion I would
answer, Yes, Yes, No to these three questions. This is because I
would argue that development is about working toward something of
which you are a part, yet only a part; and about working jointly
toward some greater unifying whole that delivers more than the
sum of its stakeholders. In my view this something, this whole,
is "society".

PAUL JEPSON

School of Geography

University of Oxford

UK