Public poorly equipped to handle crime
Public poorly equipped to handle crime
JAKARTA (JP): The increase in the country's violent crime rate
reflects society's inability to solve conflict, a prominent
intellectual asserts.
"When we encounter conflict, we promptly resort to beating.
When we dislike someone we always resort to violence," Soerjanto
Poespowardojo said in a seminar here Saturday.
Soerjanto was referring to a number of recent violent
incidents in Jakarta and the regions, most of which, he said,
stemmed from minor incidents.
Earlier this month, a mob in Jakarta attempted to burn the
house of a suspect accused of brutally murdering a woman and her
three children who lived next door.
"Ours is a society whose knowledge about solving conflicts is
limited to physical means. We have never recognized conflicts in
the domain of opinions or ideas," said the professor of
philosophy from the University of Indonesia at the seminar
organized by the Union of Catholic Students of the Republic of
Indonesia.
This explains the people's dislike of criticism, an essential
ingredient toward a more dynamic society, he said.
Resorting to physical means will lead to exclusivity and
primordialism in society, he warned.
The root of the problem is the asymmetric growth of the
economy vis-a-vis social value systems, attitude and mentality of
the people over the last 25 years, he said. The economy keeps on
growing but social values do not change.
"The gap between the two has reached such a serious level that
it needs to be addressed urgently, lest our development efforts
be in jeopardy," Soerjanto said.
The gap, he said, manifests itself in numerous fashions, but
especially with respect to the excessive importance people put on
material things.
"The yardstick of success is wealth, not social values. People
look at wealth and top positions as accomplishments while
ignoring the possibly unethical ways used in winning them," he
said.
The gap is also reflected in the government's "security
approach" in relation to development issues, which partly
explains the revocation of printed media publications and the
notorious permit regulation required for social gatherings.
Soerjanto singled out educating the public as the single most
important objective in the next 25 years of development efforts.
"The nation badly needs a total social and cultural
transformation. This means waging a battle against feudalism to
pave the way for democratization," he said.
But, he added, this is only possible in an open, free and just
society.
Other speakers at the Atmajaya Catholic University seminar
were social psychologist Bernadette Setiadi and Franz Magnis-
Suseno, a professor at the Driyarkara School of Philosophy (hbk).