Toward a democratic state

Toward a democratic state

Glancing at the editorial on Oct. 7 on the Indonesian position
viewed from Friedman's study on the five categories of countries
in the post-Cold War era, in which Indonesia and Russia belong to
the "messy states", I herewith wish to comment from my
educational point of view.

First, we should not be discouraged or dismayed as Indonesia
is not yet regarded as a failed state.

It means that there is still some hope for the state to keep
to the path toward a democratic state like America or France, or
a democratizing state like Poland or Hungary.

Second, the fact that the government has pledged to boost the
education sector has indicated that Indonesia is moving away from
being a messy state.

Third, in line with democratization many steps must be taken
by the people and the government, including boosting education in
general and opening new schools in particular.

These steps are crucial to building our inherent potential and
will lead to a learning society, which is pivotal in shaping a
democratic state. As experts have said, schools should produce
knowledge, skill, wisdom, character and emotional maturity.

One expert, Grant Thomas, has warned us that life-long
learning is now a central concern of governments and industries
at all levels, and of all sections of the education community as
we move rapidly toward a knowledge-based economy.

Materializing the above ideas could help us recover from this
"messy" state.

ODO FADLOELI

Bandung