Strict enforcement, not just regulations that count: Observer
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.
bisa disunat
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.