Serious scholars becoming rare in Indonesia

Serious scholars becoming rare in Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): Truly dedicated intellectuals are becoming a rarity in Indonesia. The bulk of intellectuals have fallen victims of the government's tight control on the freedom of expression.

This grievance was aired yesterday by well-known scholar Mochtar Buchori, a former rector of the Muhammadiyah Teachers Training Institute in Jakarta and a former senior researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

"Correct interpretation of everything is monopolized by the government," he told The Jakarta Post. He said intellectuals are often placed in an awkward position by the government when they have critical assessments on particular issues.

If the government wants scholars to have more say in the development of the nation, it should guarantee the freedom of expression, he added.

Buchori's remarks were in response to Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono's statement that local scholars should not limit their role as independent observers but should also have an ideological commitment to doing something concrete for the people's benefit.

Moerdiono made the statement on Monday when installing senior officials of LIPI, an institution which answers directly to the President.

Moerdiono suggested that scholars should contribute their ideas to state strategic matters. "There is something that our intellectuals can give that their foreign counterparts can't: ideological commitment," he said.

Scholars are committed to actively improving their society and, therefore, they must be action-oriented. "The ideological commitment will not erode their independence," Moerdiono added.

Buchori said lots of Indonesian intellectuals can be bought to serve the interests of the buyers.

Many others are lured by well-paid positions offered by the bureaucracy, he said. They are then committed not to the truth but to their masters in the bureaucracy, he added.

"When scholars join the government, they change their way of thinking into one of a bureaucrat. Those who work in ministries' research and development departments downgrade themselves into artisans," he said.

He said many intellectuals in government institutions, like LIPI and the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), do not have fresh ideas to offer.

Too many government policies, such as the uncountable economic deregulations, are made to satisfy the interests of certain groups rather than the nation, he noted.

Buchori, who angered Moslem leaders in Muhammadiyah for joining the Indonesian Democratic Party last year, said he would support Moerdiono' advice if the "ideology" is oriented on humanity not politics.

In Surakarta, sociologist Ariel Heryanto, of the Satya Wacana Christian University, said that the government should be more worried about capitalists rather than about intellectuals.

"Intellectuals criticize the government for the betterment of political, economic and legal practices," he told the Post.

Business conglomerate owners, Ariel said, have been expanding at such a rate they can threaten the credibility of the government, which has given them the numerous facilities.

It is common knowledge that capitalists will do anything such as offering bribes to officials to get everything they want from the government, he reckoned.

Collusion between businessmen and bureaucrats has become so deep-rooted that it is difficult to create clean governance in Indonesia.

"Many government decrees benefit the businesses and hurt the interests of the masses. This undermines people's trust in the government," he said,

By contrast, intellectuals in Indonesia have hardly any power. What they can do is to point at the widespread corruption, injustices and cry for democracy, he added.

Darmanto Jatman, a staff lecturer at Diponegoro University, in Semarang, said almost all scholars in Indonesia are civil servants and so are loyal to the government.

"If they are asked to convert to Islam, they will do so. If the government asks them to jump, they will say 'how high?' and if they are kicked they won't even scream," he said.

Darmanto, also a well-known cultural observer, said that Indonesian intellectuals and journalists have something in common: They only talk and don't have the guts to do anything to challenge the government. (pan/har)