RI saga: Rich man, poor man

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

There is more to Harun Alrasyid than a man with expertise in constitutional law and his distinguished high-pitched voice.

Unless the former member of the General Election Commission (KPU) is a schizophrenic who leads a double life, Harun deserves some respect for leading a thrifty lifestyle, for example, he takes public transportation everywhere he goes.

He once even returned a car the Commission provided for him. (The commission provided all its members with cars).

Harun's case, however, is an anomaly among civil servants and legislators.

Despite recent calls from President Megawati Soekarnoputri for the public to adopt a thrifty lifestyle, reality shows otherwise with most officials and other people with money.

For instance, while thousands of people protest against recent utility price hikes, an exhibition of jewelry and fine arts is going on this weekend, displaying a US$1 million diamond and rare paintings, just to name a couple of items on display.

The president's call for a frugal lifestyle should also be directed at Megawati and her subordinates who continue to shamelessly lead luxurious lifestyles, and even expect the taxpayers to pay for it.

One recent example is the proposed budget from Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso to the City Council, where he has a line item valued at Rp 3.5 billion (US$388,890) for Harley Davidson motorcycles.

The allotment for the budget is also ridiculous, with the allocation of Rp 90 million a year for the governor's "morning coffee" and Rp 100 million for his health allowance.

There are also allocations of Rp 1 billion for councillors' clothes and Rp 42 billion for an salaries and transportation for city councillors (approximately Rp 41 million a month per councillor).

Such facts evoke a feeling of injustice among most people. For many, even those who come from the middle class, Megawati's recent call to live simply shows her insensitivity toward the plight of the public in general.

"It's further proof that Ibu President doesn't really understand how the people are suffering. Her plea is redundant for people like me, because even without it we have tightened our belts as much as we possibly could," said a woman named Valentina, who is in her 30s.

She also pointed out how the President herself did not practice a modest lifestyle, citing the Rp 300 million birthday party for husband Taufik Kiemas in Bali.

Social psychologist with the University of Indonesia Drajat Sumitro said that the desire by the recently rich to shamelessly flaunt their wealth was a reflection of the growing public insensitivity.

"It is also a sign of the declining social responsibility amid the prevailing uncertainty," he said.

The prolonged crisis, which has shown no signs of improvement also has caused the public to lose hope for a "normal" life and become apathetic with the uncertain conditions facing the country.

"Everyone, whether they are rich or poor, try hard to cope with the uncertain conditions in their own way. This struggle has lessened the sense of social responsibility and sensitivity toward the other members of society.

"They just go on with their own life and ignore others, especially those who are less fortunate or have nothing to do with them. Apart from being insensitive, rich people want to be seen as powerful as well," Drajat said.

This social insensitivity has further been nourished by the fact that flaunting one's status is highly valued by the society, said sociologist Ery Seda from the University of Indonesia.

"We can see that it has become the mentality of local rich people. A luxurious lifestyle has become a must for them. That's why it is difficult to adopt thrifty lifestyles," Ery Seda said, explaining the reason why calls for modesty were hard to adopt.

And status symbols, she added, had led to a distortion of social values, motivating the public to get richer no matter what it takes.

"And since the president's call for simplicity is not in harmony with the social values, I'm afraid it is just empty rhetoric because it will not be internalized," Ery said.

Both Drajat and Ery stressed the importance of providing good formal and informal education at home, school and elsewhere in society, especially through the media to instill the importance of living economically, even without the crisis.

Parents, teachers, society leaders and media, Ery added, also needed to put an emphasis on honesty, humanity, empathy and hard work, in hopes that those values can become part of mainstream culture among the country's next generations.

"It's deploring to watch the public being bombarded by the media with the vanity or lavish lifestyles of leaders, elite people or celebrities, when those same people should be setting an example of modesty," Ery said.