Scholars call for zero tolerance of arrogant officials
Scholars call for zero tolerance of arrogant officials
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State officials need to control their behavior and show emotional
maturity as it reflects upon their competence to carry out their
jobs, scholars say.
Franz Magnis Suseno of Driyarkara Institute of Philosophy said
on Friday that state officials should be able to exert self-
control at all times.
In an apparent show of emotional immaturity, Investment
Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Theo Toemion assaulted a 14-
year-old Australian boy acting as a referee during a recent
basketball match for elementary school students at the Jakarta
International School (JIS). Theo used his fists after the referee
fouled out his 7-year-old son for rough play in a game on April
17.
The incident became public knowledge only this week.
"I regretted hearing about it. I believe that such emotional
behavior disgraces the Indonesian community, both domestically
and internationally," Magnis told The Jakarta Post.
However, he asserted the incident was not representative of
the country's state officials in general.
"This (incident) relates to a person's lack of emotional
maturity, which involves his psychological state; it is not a
general problem that happens to every official," Magnis said.
Sociologist Komaruddin Hidayat, meanwhile, said that a leader
should not only be smart, but possess emotional intelligence as
well.
"Being a smart leader is not enough. A leader must have
intellectual intelligence for analytical ability, spiritual
intelligence to manage life, and emotional intelligence to
control emotions," Komaruddin of Paramadina University said.
He added that people needed to be careful when commenting on
the behavior of others. Some people may be impulsive and have
difficulty in controlling their emotions when facing certain
situations. Moreover, when children are involved, certain people
tend to become irrational.
"Every leader who mistreats someone deserves social as well as
professional sanctions, which should be given by their
supervisors," he said.
The government said on Thursday that it will be leaving the
incident to be dealt with by law enforcers, but fell short of
revealing any disciplinary action against Theo.
In Indonesia, several incidents have occurred in recent years
that have involved inappropriate emotional behavior by high state
officials.
As an example, on Feb. 5 last year, former regent Jefri Noer
sacked the headmaster of a local senior high school who
criticized him during a dialog with teachers in Kampar, Pekan
Baru. The decision sparked massive rallies that eventually led to
the regent's dismissal.
In 2003, Gorontalo regent Medi Botutihe was reported by the
Kompas daily to have slapped a careless truck driver in the face
while traveling on the Trans Sulawesi road. He also threatened
the driver with a gun.
In another incident in 2002, deputy Biak Numfor regent Lesias
Stevanus Rumbiak hit a lecturer of the University of Papua
(Unipa), Yosep Musa Sombuk, during a seminar. Lesias was offended
by a question raised by Sombuk.
The lecturer, and three other people who were also punched by
Lesias, reported the deputy regent to police, however the matter
remains unresolved. (004)