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)