The middle-way approach

Umar Juoro Jakarta

The appropriate term to describe the approach taken by the current Indonesian government, especially in handling difficult issues, is to seek out the middle way with a view to finding a solution. The emphasis is more on the process than the end result, and participation in decision making is made as wide and inclusive as possible.

This approach could clearly be seen right from the beginning of this administration. Realizing that Indonesian politics is pluralist, with several political parties in the House of Representatives (DPR), even though President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received majority support and a strong political mandate in the 2004 presidential election, he decided to form a Cabinet consisting of political party representatives, professionals and technocrats.

Even though we believe that the Cabinet as it now stands is not what President Susilo would really have wanted, its composition clearly reflects the middle way approach.

In the 2005 budget revisions that the government proposed recently, the oil price assumption was US$35 per barrel, with total fuel subsidy spending being set at Rp 19 trillion ($1.95 billion). But the House of Representatives finally approved the revising upward of the oil price assumption to $45 per barrel and total fuel subsidy spending to more than Rp 76 trillion. The government accepted this change without much resentment. This is another indication that economic policy is also gravitating toward the compromise approach to decision making.

The ongoing process of resolving the problems related to the extension of the ExxonMobil-Cepu contract also reflects the middle-way approach. Originally, Pertamina did not want to extend the Technical Assistance Contract (TAC) that will end in 2010.

The government was initially reluctant to get involved. As the minister of energy stated, this was a strictly business-to- business issue. But the President decided to push ahead with the renegotiations by allowing a team under the chief economics minister, Aburizal Bakrie, to represent both the government and Pertamina in negotiating with ExxonMobil.

The principles for a contract extension have been agreed upon. The solution is not optimal for either of the parties, and the process has turned out to be lengthy. But in the end, an agreement was reached through compromise.

On the security issue, the ongoing peace negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) also reflect the middle-way approach. Knowing that the issue cannot be solved through military action, Vice President Jusuf Kalla took the initiative of sending a delegation of ministers to participate in peace talks facilitating by a Helsinki-based NGO.

The negotiations have not reached a final conclusion yet, but the process is moving towards a middle way solution. This is further evidence that the middle-way approach has been widely adopted inside the Susilo administration, and is being employed in the economic, political and security fields.

The President has consistently stressed the middle-way approach in his speeches.

He has spoke about wielding "soft power", which has persuasion, dialog and patience as its main elements, rather than physical or military power in resolving conflicts and developing international relations.

He believes in inclusiveness in policy and strategy making. This is why he likes to talk and listen to various groups in society. President Susilo would like to run the country using a leadership style that combines the best of Sukarnoism, which focused on a nation building, and the best of Soehartoism, which emphasized economic development.

What Susilo would like to add to this combination is respect for good governance. He would like to leave the legacy of a credible and relatively clean government operating in a democratic system. Of course, the history will be the judge of how successful he was in this.

For those who prefer tough stances and quick solutions, this approach is rather disappointing as a lot of time is required and many elements outside of the politics elites are involved. Furthermore, decisions are not clear-cut but are rather based on compromises.

However, given the country's pluralistic politics and the diverse problems that it faces, developing a consensus provides an important base for producing sustainable solutions in various sectors. The process might be slow, and the solution might be less than optimal, but at least the results will be sustainable.

Under the Susilo administration, important decisions are made relatively slowly and are strongly characterized by compromises as part of an inclusive way of doing things. The elites in society may find it difficult to accept this, but the public at large are quite comfortable with the approach.

The crucial issue is that while many of the existing problems cannot be solved quickly enough, new problems continue to crop up much faster, and often unexpectedly, than the government can deal with them. For this reason, while the middle- way approach is a good start, sooner or later a firmer or tougher approach to policy and decision making will be needed, and a quicker problem-solving process adopted so as to get things done in a timely fashion. If not, frustration will build up and ultimately undermine the government's credibility.

The writer is chairman of CIDES (Center for Information and Development Studies), and a senior fellow of the Habibie Center.