Time to build on 'reformasi' amid the bottlenecking obstacles

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.