Strict enforcement, not just regulations that count: Observer
Kornelius Purba The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Indonesia will not restore its international credibility for as long as the government does not change its indecisive stance against those commit violence and spread terror in the country, a senior Japanese scholar has warned.
Mitsui Nakamura, a veteran observer of Islam in Indonesia, pointed out that President Megawati Soekarnoputri's government should prove to the world that it was able to bring justice to law violators, regardless of their religion, ethnic or political background.
He praised the two, newly issued government antiterrorist regulations in lieu of law as a strong legal base for the government to combat terrorism.
"Anyone who violates them should be punished severely," Nakamura said in an interview with The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
He speculated that certain elements of the military and the political elite who had lost the privileges they had enjoyed during Soeharto's regime were behind the rampant violence and acts of terrorism in Indonesia.
Nakamura currently works as senior research advisor to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), which is in charge of the implementation of all Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA). For several decades he has followed the development of the country's two largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.
Nakamura praised the leaders of NU and Muhammadiyah for their strong commitment to leading their members during these difficult time. The leaders of the country's Muslim mainstream groups have shown their strong determination to ensure Indonesia is a safe home to all of its citizens, regardless of their religion and different backgrounds.
On the future of Indonesia, Nakamura said the country had reached significant progress in democratization, better respect for human rights and the increasing role of civil society.
However, he warned that the country had yet to have a clear vision over where the country was heading.
"This situation is the consequence of the absence of a well- established national model for Indonesia. It is a maritime and a multilingual nation. No other country is quite like that. Indonesia has to experiment with its future and destiny," said the scholar.
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Meanwhile, following mounting public criticism over the implementation of ODA, including the widespread abuse of funds by recipient countries and the lack of attention to grassroots projects, the bank has set up the Indonesia-Japan Forum. Several Indonesian and Japanese scholars, including respected Muslim Nurcholish Madjid and Nakamura, are assigned to assist the bank to improve its work in Indonesia.