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