The nation's primary commodity: Nationalistic pride
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post
Every May 20, the nation commemorates National Awakening Day, where all of the country's presidents past and current, are expected -- through a speech -- to fire up a sense of nationalism among citizens.
When asked, "who is Indonesia's most nationalistic president?" I will immediately point to the country's third president: B.J. Habibie. He replaced Soeharto on May 21, 1998, after a series of riots and violent anti-Soeharto demonstrations nationwide. He served the country until October 1999.
Narrow-minded nationalists may condemn his decision to end the country's occupation of East Timor by allowing a referendum there a few months before his term ended. But he perfectly carried out the 1945 Constitution's mandate that Indonesia should help other nations liberate themselves from imperialism and colonialism.
To encourage a nationalistic spirit, Habibie even obliged all Cabinet ministers and journalists who covered the palace to wear the traditional peci (hat).
Soeharto's golden boy established state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT IPTN in the early 1970s. He wanted to prove that Indonesia could export sophisticated planes, not just traditional agricultural products or housemaids. The airplanes were exported to many countries. From one aircraft, Indonesia got glutinous rice from Thailand as part of a countertrade deal. Javanese people are fond of snacks made from glutinous rice. Isn't it a very efficient way to do business?
As the company nearly went bankrupt in 2001 the company stopped its core business and produced bowls, but received a cool market reaction. Regardless of the results and the costs we had to pay, the nation should still be proud of Habibie's efforts to bring glory for his country.
How about Soeharto's efforts to produce sophisticated goods?
Soeharto asked his youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra to produce a national car. The method was very simple: Just import KIA cars from South Korea and name them Timor. However perhaps only the air for the tires was actually taken from Indonesia. The ambitious plan failed, but at least many of the cars still operate as taxis.
How about President Susilo?
East Java Governor Imam Utomo is evidently more enthusiastic than President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono not just to commemorate National Awakening Day, but also to use the celebration as a magic momentum to combat the country's most chronic disease: Corruption.
According to the province's official website, the governor requires all civil servants in the province to wear batik from May 17 to May 23. Probably because wearing batik is regarded as a perfect symbol of nationalism, although former South African president Nelson Mandela seems more passionate about wearing batik than Indonesian leaders.
"With the soul and spirit of National Awakening Day, we build a democratic, civilized and corruption-free Indonesia" is the theme of celebration for the province. For the governor, the war on corruption is very simple. Just make it the theme of celebrations, and like a voodoo ritual the country's most chronic disease will immediately disappear after the ceremony.
The President will attend a simple commemorative ceremony at the State Palace on Friday morning, before flying to Bali to open his Democratic Party congress there.
Of course he too is a nationalistic leader. He is also very eager to create peace in the world. He seems overly ambitious in stepping into the international spotlight despite a lot of domestic problems.
Nationalists are always proud to be Indonesians no matter how messy the country's condition is. Indonesia is a great country, although for the time being it can only defeat industrialized countries in producing new babies.
Despite our weakness and prevalence in corruption, we still claim ourselves to be a great nation!