Politics, education inseparable

By Harry Bhaskara

JAKARTA (JP): In these testing times, where every avenue to overcome the plight of the nation appears to be blocked, it is difficult to be patient. But patience is the most important quality now, three years after the reform movement.

Experts taking part in a recent seminar here warned that a change for the better may take decades to materialize, and only after a consistent reform of the education system. They believe that the country's poor education system is one of the factors responsible for today's confusion.

"Education can certainly become one of the forces to take us out of the present morass," said Mochtar Buchori, a noted educator and a legislator. "This (improvement) will not happen instantly but over a relatively long period spanning two or three generations."

Sindhunata, the chief editor of Basis cultural magazine, quoting Yogyakarta painter Djokopekik, said the wild boar (celeng, which signifies ignoble humanity in Javanese folklore) had been nabbed at the height of the reform movement.

But then, he said, why do we still witness the darkness around us today? Because everyone of us has turned into wild boars.

"We are caught by a severe 'wild boar fever,'" he said. "Those who appeared to be decent turned out to be wild boars themselves. While those who are clearly evil are not ashamed about their past deeds."

In this "reform" era, it turns out we have become the archetype of our own enemies, he said, lisping poisonous words, becoming utterly impatient, forgoing our feeling of shame and indulging ourselves in mud-slinging matches.

Buchori and Sindhunata were speaking at a seminar titled Anguish and Crisis: The Education Solution, held on March 15. Other speakers included Abdillah Toha of the National Mandate Party (PAN), educator Bambang Hidayat, Asia Foundation's Douglas Ramage and noted economist Faisal Basri.

The remedy of the social sickness will take a long time, Buchori said, because the country needs a new generation of leaders capable of making decisions relevant to today's problems.

Preconditions, he said, included removing the current practice of separating politics from education, deliberations about education in the long-time perspective and the termination of students' alienation from social and cultural realities.

Flaws of the past education system which are largely still being practiced, Buchori said, included both infatuation with knowledge and failure to nurture the skill to grasp the meaning of words, concepts and knowledge in general.

Bambang Hidayat said a reformed education system must be able to respond to 21st century challenges such as global trends in population, development and environment.

"The highly complex postindustrial society demands new knowledge and skills and ... new human traits for adapting to and meeting the conditions of urban life," Hidayat said.

Asked whether politics should enter the domain of education or the reverse, Buchori said students should learn about civic responsibility.

"This is what I mean by the inseparability of politics and education. (Students) should not be indifferent to what is happening around them. They should know and develop an awareness of what is going outside their schools," said Buchori.

The separation of politics and education was incontestable during Soeharto's 30-year authoritarian rule. The image that politics is dirty stemmed from this period and is largely seen the same way today.

Ramage said that putting politics in the classroom was common. He regretted the fact that many people did not want to become politicians.

"This is such a pity. Politics is an honorable profession. This is the result of an education system that says politics is dirty," says Ramage.

Toha, himself a businessman and politician, shared this view. "The country might well be governed by political observers if there is no one interested in being politicians."

A participant at the talks who lamented Indonesia's meager 3.8 percent budget allocation for education compared to 25 percent in neighboring countries, said politicians were needed to pressure the government to increase this budget share.

Buchori said the final say on budget increase would come from politicians.

"If they (politicians) are ignorant about politics, the poor state of our education system will remain the same. So, let's create a new generation of politicians who are politically wise.

"We can never escape from politics. It is the reality of life. Let's practice politics wisely. The question is how to manage and contain the 'illiterate politicians,'" he said.

Sindhunata said the education system in Indonesia became dogmatic in the 1960s. "All of us here are products of the system. We have failed to come out from our current crisis because of our educational background," he said.

With regard to moral values, Toha said that what is taught at schools is too abstract and less than relevant to reality.

He says many people fail to live according to the teachings of Islam, for example.

"Failing to respect one's neighbors, treating housemaids ruthlessly, ignoring the poor, failing to contain extreme behavior and failing to be just to others and to oneself are not in line with the teachings of Islam."

Islam, says Toha, holds that anything done in opposition to one's conscience is a sin.

Faisal Basri, until recently a leader of PAN, said religion had no relation to political morals. "One may be a devoted believer (of a religion) but this does not necessarily have anything to do with his or her political practices," he says.

Observing the erstwhile tendency to "Islamize" science, Toha said: "The Islamization of science has its critics. It tends to reduce scientific issues in such a way that it views anything originating outside Islam as dangerous."

Ramage said the teaching of tolerance, for example, was done in a compulsory manner. "How it is practiced in real life is being ignored."

A participant asked whether culture should come before education.

Sindhunata said the nation's early leaders such as Sukarno, Mohammad Hatta and Tan Malaka could differ in their political views but still remain good friends.

"Why? Because they were cultured people. And at the same time they had very good education backgrounds. In fact, there were many problems in parliament in the 1950s but there were never physical clashes," he said.

Today, he says, a difference of opinion can end in a brawl. "It is often said that Indonesian people like to smile but the smile is insincere. Deep down in our hearts we are actually cruel human beings."

"Gotong royong (mutual help) is said to be the hallmark of the Javanese. But this is only true in cases of a kampong community event ... they are actually very individualistic. This indulgence in cultural deception has become our social illness," he said.

A participant, Hasnan Habib, said the discussion limited the definition of education to the formal education received in school.

Education, he said, "includes values inculcated at home from the family, examples given by parents and anything that can be learned from one's environment."

Buchori said while education comprised formal, nonformal and informal education, "For one to engage oneself in a lifelong education requires a strong formal-education foundation."

Ramage said that an education about democracy, for example, did not have come through a formal education.

In conclusion, Buchori said that despite the intricate issues of education, there was always hope of building a better system.

The seminar was held in conjunction with the launching of seven books, including three by Mochtar Buchori. (Anticipatory Education), all by Mochtar Buchori.

The four other books on education are by Sindhunata.

The seminar was jointly organized by The Asia Foundation, Basis magazine, Kanisius publishing company and The Jakarta Post.

The writer is a journalist with The Jakarta Post.