Talk, talk and talk

Talk, talk and talk

Instead of coming out with ways of solving the country's many
pressing problems, President Abdurrahman Wahid and leaders of the
House of Representatives ended up hurling accusations at each
other in their latest round of consultations on Thursday.

It is now clear that the controversy over the dismissal of two
Cabinet ministers this week will take up the attention of our
politicians in the days, weeks or even months to come.

The President's explanation, that they were fired because of
alleged corruption, has only angered the Golkar Party and the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan). As the
country's two largest political parties, they are not likely to
let the matter rest easily.

If consultation is supposed to be an exercise in democracy,
the meeting on Thursday was a really bad example. The already
confused public is confounded by the lack of commitment from
leaders of the executive and legislative branches to address much
more serious problems facing the nation today, such as the
economy, the violence in various regions, and the lack of
progress in human rights investigations.

If these and many other problems remain unresolved, people in
the country will begin to have doubts about the ability of their
leaders to live up to their responsibilities. Worse, some may
begin to doubt whether or not the problems besetting Indonesia
can be resolved in a democratic fashion at all (i.e., through
dialog and compromise).

There should, however, be no question that consultation is the
preferred means of solving differences. The alternative is force
and violence. It is therefore crucial that the leaders of this
nation engage in continuous dialog in order to iron out their
differences.

It is also understandable that our leaders face a long
learning curve in mastering the skills necessary to practice
democracy. But it is also important that they realize they must
meet their responsibilities while learning on the job.

Presently, leaders in the executive and legislative branches
seem to have caught the NATO virus: No Actions, Talks Only.

Both branches of government have little to show for themselves
in the six or eight months that they have been in charge of the
country; though they certainly have talked a lot.

The economy, in particular, remains in the doldrums with
little signs of real significant improvement. The constant
quarreling between the country's political elites, and the
uncertainty they have created, have virtually put all new
investments in Indonesia on hold.

The economic condition has become so exasperating that even
noted economist Sjahrir, who is known as a democrat, last week
called for a "moratorium" on political debates so that the nation
could focus its attention on fixing the economy.

As much as we share Sjahrir's concern about the state of the
economy, his moratorium proposition is not without risks, and
could plunge the country back into authoritarianism.

A moratorium was what Soeharto essentially imposed on the
nation when he rose to power in 1966. True enough, the country
enjoyed 30 years of almost uninterrupted economic growth. The
political moratorium was never lifted and the country suffered
severely through deprivation of political rights and injustices.
And the rampant corruption ultimately undid almost all the gains
of the economic development.

We have been down that road before and should not want to make
the same mistake again.

Yet, Sjahrir's drastic proposal is a sign that many people,
including those who have fought for democracy such as he has, are
having second thoughts about the ability of the political system
and the present political leaders to successfully deal with and
resolve the country's economic problems.

Among the doubters are bound to be little Soehartos --
ambitious and power-hungry politicians or generals -- who will be
only too happy to use force and take charge of things. If and
when that happens -- God forbid -- then Indonesia's present
leaders must take the blame for wasting their time quarreling
over petty matters while neglecting their larger
responsibilities.