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.