Universities deny radicalization among students
Universities deny radicalization among students
By Haryoso and Prapti Widinugraheni
JAKARTA (JP): The top administrators of Indonesia's leading
universities appealed to the government to ease control over
campuses, and personally assured that official concern about the
radicalization of students was unfounded.
Students critical of the government should not be viewed as
rebels because their opinions contribute to the government's
decision making process, Muhammad Budyatna from the University of
Indonesia said.
The dean of the university's School of Social and Political
Science said that some students may be considered "leftists" and
"radical" by the government, but their idealist criticism is
often more helpful than harmful.
"Their criticism does not necessarily have to be what you
would call constructive -- otherwise it wouldn't be called
criticism -- but as long as they do it in a good manner, I don't
see what the problem is," he told The Jakarta Post.
"After all, the government is human and its policies may
contain flaws here and there. It wouldn't hurt to be criticized
to improve and correct things."
Radicalization
Coordinating Minister of Political Affairs and Security
Soesilo Soedarman said last month that the government noted an
increased "radicalization" on the country's university campuses.
He was also concerned that students tended to invite people
critical of the government to speak at campus seminars.
Budyatna said he was not against "vocal" speakers at student
seminars but always asked his students to have speakers with
different views to balance the talk. "This is to avoid students
getting indoctrinated by only one paradigm."
He acknowledged that students are now more critical than they
were in the late 1970's and the 1980's when their actions were
damned by the government's Normalization of Campus Life/Student
Coordinating Board. The concept limited students to studying
political theory while barring them from indulging in politics.
The highly unpopular policy was abolished in 1990.
"Now I see the critical attitude which existed at the
beginning of the New Order slowly reemerging," Budyatna said,
referring to the popular term for President Soeharto's
administration which came to power in 1968.
Budyatna said talks are important because students need a
chance to speak up. "I think that given the opportunity,
misunderstandings can be resolved ... If this is not allowed, it
can become a potential time bomb," he warned.
Nurdien H.K. and Ridwan Widyadharma of Diponegoro University
in Semarang, Central Java, said students should be critical of
the government, especially if government policies harm the
public.
Nurdien, from the School of Letters, said both students and
lecturers should be committed to act and speak critically and
consciously about the injustices they see. "Of course, the
criticism should be rational, comprehensive and contain a
solution. It shouldn't only be emotional."
He warned, however, that some students might be using campuses
only as a step to gaining a career in the Indonesian bureaucracy.
"It would be a pity if they use their bureaucratic positions in
the future to exploit the people whom they once defended."
Ridwan, a political lecturer, said universities and students
are currently undergoing a "very serious political crisis",
because there is minimal dynamism on campuses.
Campuses should not be sterilized from political activities.
They should be a place where future political leaders are
groomed, he said.
Attitude
Affan Gaffar, a political lecturer at Gadjah Mada University
in Yogyakarta, said not all students had the same political
attitude. Much depend on the campus' bureaucracy and the students
themselves.
"I see that student activists are experiencing a social
deprivation. Their political, economic and social expectations --
which is actually what the New Order is all about -- do not
match, and are even drifting further away."
Affan said an atmosphere of open dialog is needed to bring
together students, who see themselves as carrying a "social
mission", and the government.
"This is a difficult problem that we haven't managed to solve
because, as we can see, students can only criticize the
government by risking pressure," he said.
Affan said the students' actions have not reached a stage that
endanger security and cause public disorder. "They only want a
change -- a better condition," he asserted.