We need another 'Bung' Karno

We need another 'Bung' Karno

From Rakyat Merdeka

Indonesia's first president Sukarno, better known as Bung
(Brother) Karno, was excellent at uniting this nation by means
of, among other things, identifying a common enemy.

He diverted the attention of the nation to Papua and made The
Netherlands the country's common enemy.

Temporarily, we forgot inter-ethnic conflicts and our poverty
as the people were busy training as volunteers to fight for the
return of Papua to Jakarta's control.

Afterwards, to divert attention from the poverty that swept
the country, Bung Karno found another common enemy. This time it
was Malaysia, a new federal state, the establishment of which was
assisted by Britain. Again, the people were busy training as
volunteers to be sent to the front lines to wage war with
Malaysia.

Under Bung Karno, and Soeharto, Indonesia's second president,
Indonesia had a strong central government. Regardless of their
human failings, the two presidents commanded respect.

After Soeharto stepped down, the Indonesian people lost its
true leaders. The fall of the New Order has led to the emergence
of so many political leaders that the country is now thrown into
a deeper abyss of a protracted crisis. These leaders are busy
offering their solutions, but none have mass appeal to the
people.

Bomb blasts in Bali and elsewhere, the loss of Sipadan and
Ligitan Islands to Malaysia as a result of a bilateral dispute on
ownership settled at the World Court and the hikes in daily
necessities and utilities are just a few examples of what a
shambles this country is in, economically and politically.

The so-called leaders, speaking in the name of the people and
religion, have shown only manipulative opportunism.

In short, Indonesians are longing for a true leader, one that
has the courage to severely punish corruptors that are causing
losses worth Rp 1,600 trillion to the country. Indonesians need a
government that can provide jobs to the 40 million jobless people
across the country and lift another 80 million people out of dire
poverty.

Surely, if Indonesia's leaders of the past, such as Bung
Karno, Bung Hatta, Bung Syahril, General Sudirman, Sri Sultan
Hamengku Buwono IX, rose from their graves, they would weep
bitterly to see how the country is now on the brink of
disintegration with poverty spreading swiftly to every part of
the country.

R. BAGUS SYANI K.
Jakarta