Scholar says anxiety rising in society

Scholar says anxiety rising in society

SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): Recent violent incidents in some
parts of the country indicate growing frustration among some
people about their circumstances, noted intellectual Umar Kayam
says.

"There appears to be rising anxiety among the people in
Indonesia which has been caused by the growing inequality between
the members of society," Umar said in a discussion on Saturday.

"Life has become tougher now for many people. Many of them are
out of jobs, while those who do work are not earning enough to
make ends meet," said the senior staff lecturer at the School of
Letters of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

The one-day discussion at Semarang's City Hall was organized
by the Association of Indonesian Women Graduates. Karlina
Leksono, a staff lecturer of Diponegoro University and Soetedjo
of the Central Java Family Planning Board were the other two
speakers at the seminar.

Recent brutal killings and the backlash they created, and
violent demonstrations such as the one that occurred in
Purwakarta, West Java, last week, are indications of people's
frustration, Umar said.

"The situation has been worsened by the fact that the
political environment is not open, so that these feelings of
anxiety do not have any outlet," he said.

"These incidents should indicate that something isn't right.

"Unfortunately, the government appears to have turned a blind
eye and is not providing any solutions. The anxiety and
frustrations sometimes explode, creating even more confusion,"
Umar said.

He admitted that it is not easy to solve the inequality
problem, such as overcoming unemployment or providing good but
affordable schools for the people.

Umar however lamented at the way the government has responded
to these violent incidents, such as by clamping down or by making
strong accusations against certain people. "Such accusations
clearly are not helping at all." (har)