The Indonesian raft is adrift

The Indonesian raft is adrift

By Ronald G. Pate

JAKARTA (JP): Happy and contented people do not demonstrate.
They do not form gangs to meet out their idea of morality and
justice. They do not kill their neighbor because he practices a
different religion. They do not burn a hungry man for stealing a
chicken.

Unfortunately, these kinds of things have happened in
Indonesia and are likely to continue unabated in the near future.

Indonesia is a large and rich country. It has more natural
resources and more people than France, Germany, Italy, Canada, or
Australia. Certainly it has more than any other country in
Southeast Asia.

Why then has Indonesia been struggling to feed its people, to
provide jobs for the millions of unemployed? Why are Muslims and
Christians killing one another in eastern Indonesia? Why is there
no trust in the law?

Do not look outside the country for the answers or the
reasons. That has been one of the major problems that all too
often Indonesians have chosen to blame someone else for problems
they themselves have created.

Truly, it was not George Soros who caused Indonesia's
financial crisis. And it was not Australia that caused the
problems in East Timor. The international community, through the
United Nations, condemned the widespread human rights violations
there, and Australia, sanctioned by the UN, took an active role
in stopping the murdering and pillaging being perpetrated against
innocent civilians there.

It is not possible to achieve a lasting solution to a problem
if the causes are ignored. Ignored, rather than unknown, because
Indonesians who have looked at the situation objectively are
aware of the causes.

But those who would blame a transmigrant, or an ethnic
minority, or a group that practices a different religion, or
speaks a different language, or another country, clearly will
never find a solution for the myriad problems now confronting
Indonesia. One cannot correct a problem by affixing blame and
pointing fingers.

Throughout history, times of extreme economic distress and
injustice have brought out the worst behavior in people without
internal strength. But those times have also brought forth some
of the greatest leaders; Jawaharlal Nehru, Nelson Mandela,
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lee Kuan Yew, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh,
Winston Churchill, Habib ibn Ali Bourguiba and others.

In every country suffering severe distress, short of
revolution, implementation of a solution lies beyond the
capabilities of the people. The solution, and the implementation,
must come from the government apparatus that the people have put
in place.

It is not useful for individuals to compare themselves with
other individuals, but collectively it can be a useful exercise.
For instance, why is Indonesia experiencing so many serious
problems while India, which gained its independence at
approximately the same time, has a more robust economy and a
viable democracy?

Many would point to the differences in the sociopolitical
systems left behind by their colonial rulers. However, I believe
it also has much to do with the fact that Indians have changed
their leadership regularly and have given the people access to
good education.

During the 32 years that former president Soeharto reigned, he
and his family, his cronies, top government officials and
military elite stole the wealth of Indonesia. They not only stole
the wealth of three generations, but when they saw the end
coming, they were afraid they had not taken enough and they stole
the wealth of the next generation as well. They did all this with
the consent of the people.

Yes, they had the consent of the people. Through the years,
the Soeharto machine was careful to ensure that rice bowls were
full. But no more than that. There was no other nourishment.
There was no commitment to education because the elite of that
machine knew it was easier to rule an uneducated populace.

During the three decades of the New Order the vast majority of
Indonesians knew of the rampant corruption practiced throughout
the bureaucracy. Many accepted it as a right of a hero and when
possible practiced it themselves.

The few educated dissenters were dealt with swiftly and
harshly, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, Thomas Wapay Wanggai, Budiman
Sudjatmiko, among others.

Sanctions were imposed on all and most were imprisoned.
Thankfully, they were not all tortured and murdered like
Marsinah. But their harsh treatment was possible because the
people permitted it.

Apart from the Group of 50 and several international human
rights organizations, who spoke out against the plague of torture
and murder that occurred during the early 1980s? Who voiced
outrage over the massacre of Muslim radicals in Tanjung Priok in
1984?

When for decades, huge government contracts were consistently
awarded to businesses controlled by Soeharto's family and
personal friends, who spoke out?

When for decades, Soeharto was unopposed in general elections,
who would have had it otherwise?

Why did it take so long for the people to become sufficiently
aware of the rot to demand a change? Why did the impetus for
change come from university students?

Education for a few and awareness for many. The awareness
finally came as televisions, newspapers and radios spread through
villages throughout the archipelago and broadcasters and news
writers slowly spread the truth. Newspaper articles were blacked
out.

Newspapers and magazines were closed. Radio stations lost
their licenses. TV station managers and directors were summarily
discharged. But an understanding of what the New Order regime was
doing finally became known and eventually the people said
"enough".

After paying a terrible price in young lives, Indonesians were
finally able to bring down the Soeharto machine. The tragedy of
May 1998 was a tragedy in more than one sense. Had Soeharto been
more aware himself, he would not have run for reelection in 1996.
He would have realized that it was time to step down.

Had he been satisfied with what he had accomplished and the
immense wealth he had accumulated, Indonesia would not now be
bankrupt and would still have a national hero it could revere.
That one fateful decision, more than any other single event, was
responsible for the horrendous problems now afflicting the
country.

But what is the solution? What must the government do to get
the train back on the tracks?

Right now, Indonesia is like a group of seamen whose ship has
sunk in the middle of the ocean with no other ships around to
rescue them. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and
Asian Development Bank have flown over the seamen in a rescue
aircraft and dropped a raft. The drowning sailors must pull
themselves into the raft. Once in the raft they must make their
way to safety by themselves.

The Indonesian government is not doing its job. The
legislature and the executive are working at cross-purposes.
Self-interest is the order of the day. For the sailors in the
raft to reach safety, they must decide on a direction and then
all row together as a team if they are to reach safety.

If the Indonesian raft is ever to reach a safe harbor, the
executive and legislature will have to agree on a direction and
all work together to achieve a common objective.

As long as self-interest is more important than the welfare of
the people, as long as career objectives are more important than
feeding and educating the children, as long as the police and
military support one group of Indonesians over another, as long
as injustice prevails in courts where judges' decisions are
bought, then the raft will be condemned to drift at sea at the
mercy of the elements.

Indonesian leaders may well remember what former U.S.
President, John F. Kennedy once said: "Ask not what your country
can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

The author has lived in Indonesia for 20 years. A graduate of
the University of Houston, with studies in mathematics and
psychology, he is now a language consultant at The Jakarta Post.