Time to build on Reformasi

Time to build on Reformasi

SL Lim
External Relations Advisor
United Nations Support Facility
for Indonesian Recovery
(UNSFIR)
Jakarta

As Indonesia gears up for an election year which will include
the first-ever direct presidential elections, the country appears
to be balanced on a knife's edge. Never have prospects for
deepening and consolidating democracy seemed better. Conversely,
never has there been more cynicism and disillusionment about the
state of democracy in the country.

The results of a recent survey conducted by the Indonesian
Survey Institute shows that more and more Indonesians are looking
backwards. There's a nostalgia for the "good old days" -- anti-
New Order feeling is ebbing fast and in its place is a longing
for the economic and political stability under that regime.

Such sentiments have been growing steadily since the fall of
the Soeharto regime. Indonesians are tired of the never-ending
transition, tired of high unemployment, tired of seeing old, old
problems like corruption still spreading and debilitating the
country, tired of feeling rudderless in a sea of problems. The
idealism that inspired thousands to take to the streets years ago
and demand reformasi seems to have faded away or gotten lost
somewhere in the complicated labyrinth of transition.

But while it is extremely tempting to view the past with rose-
tinted glasses, it is also a dangerous and misplaced exercise. In
longing to return to the past, it becomes all too easy to forget
that the seeds of krismon (monetary crisis) and some of the
problems today were sown during that regime and because of the
way it operated. To go back to the old way of doing things may
merely lay the foundation for another collapse around the corner.

How to ensure then that Indonesia keeps on its quest towards
more democratization, while trying to achieve a sustainable
recovery? It's a tall order. But a start can be made by focusing
on efforts to rebuild a sense of national purpose and direction
which at the same time deepens democracy.

And one way this can be done is for the government and those
it governs to come together in a joint effort to tackle the
pressing public policy issues facing the country.

Work is already underway to try to evolve a more efficient,
open and inclusive process when it comes to making decisions
about public policy.

The Indonesian Public Policy Network or JAJAKI (Jaringan
Kebijakan Publik Indonesia), among others facilitated by UNSFIR,
is just such an initiative which has been gaining ground in the
past year. It rests on the idea that there should be close
consultation between those who make the policies and those who
are affected by the policies.

The network is made up of Indonesian institutions from all
areas of society, from think tanks to the private sector, from
civil society to the government.

In the past, policy-makers were hardly falling over themselves
to involve the public in their decisions. Everything was carried
out behind closed doors and in a highly technocratic manner.
Neither was the government looking at public policy issues in a
comprehensive manner or examining interlinkages between different
areas.

The complex nature of Indonesia's transition however means
that public decision-making is now infinitely more complex. The
government has to think about how different issues are linked and
what sort of far-reaching consequences and implications any
policy decision will have.

Be that as it may, many bottlenecks still exist: Nothing short
of a presidential decree is necessary before different
ministries can start working together and looking at areas of
common interest. And even where joint committees exist, getting
everyone to sit down and hold meetings regularly is a laborious
process and more often than not, the meetings do not take place.

Public reaction and support is also something that
policymakers now have to take into account. Today, the government
has to deal with many more players.

These come into play when the government tries to carry out
something like privatization. The privatization of Semen Padang
is a case in point. Opposition to the deal from workers and other
quarters meant that the government had trouble getting things
done, including getting rid of the old management, even though a
new management team had already been appointed.

More recently in the legislature, a minister complained about
how lawmakers were hampering privatization by asking too many
questions. All this highlights the fact that public scrutiny and
support are elements that cannot be ignored these days. And that
there is a need to gain wide agreement on policies at grassroots
level and in the public realm before. Otherwise, it is simply
impossible to implement policies effectively.

In a democratic environment, the government can only govern
with the support of its constituents. Many governments actively
consult and work together with society to develop new policies
and improve existing ones. Governments thus not only give
citizens a say in national public policy -- but legitimize
themselves and their decisions in the eyes of those they govern.

Thus, in many ways, the consultative process initiated by
JAJAKI is timely. It is a constructive way of addressing the
frustrations that many feel. Rather than simply writing off
reformasi and opting for a return to the old ways, Indonesia can
forge ahead and continue to build on its ideals.

The process helps build up democracy precisely because it is
consultative and thus gives everyone a chance to have a say in
designing Indonesia's future. JAJAKI will ensure that policy-
making is no longer carried out in a vacuum without first gauging
the public response to policy decisions. It will also act an
invaluable testing ground for new directions in policy-making and
will help the country identify key priorities and thus
reestablish that lost sense of national direction and purpose.

The process carried out by JAJAKI will also engender a sense
of national ownership -- a feeling that Indonesians are coming up
with their own solutions grounded in Indonesian experience,
context and history, and therefore will work in Indonesia.

The network can also act as an informal avenue for the airing
of critical policy issues. Not only will it get non-government
and government elements to come together, JAJAKI also provides a
channel for intra-government exchange while avoiding time-
consuming red tape.

Most importantly, JAJAKI's discussions and work will be
focused, results-based and systematic. Rigorous evaluation and
narrowing down of workable policy options for Indonesia will be
carried out. The output will ultimately be channeled in the form
of policy recommendations to the government.

Given a chance, this initiative, a first for the country, can
take root and flower. Indeed, this could be seen as the second
practical wave of reformasi, where the ideas and ideals of the
movement are finally translated into active policies. There is
still time and opportunity to seize the day.