Why a bigger budget
It would be merely self-evident to say that the scars that more than thirty years of military-dominated rule have left on this country run deep among Indonesians. Just how deep they are can be gauged by the strong opposition that has been voiced in many quarters of our society against the rather substantial increase in the government's new security and defense budget.
The draft, as submitted by President Abdurrahman Wahid to the House of Representatives last Thursday, sets aside a sum of Rp 10.1 trillion (nearly US$1.4 billion) for defense and security expenditure spending over the nine-month transitional period from April 1 to Dec. 31, compared to Rp 12.2 trillion (approximately $1.7 billion) for the previous 12-month period.
While such an amount may to richer countries look like a trivial sum for ensuring the security of the nation, here in Indonesia it can easily look like an improper extravaganza amid the nation's current economic circumstances.
Aberson Marle Sihaloho, House representative for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), quite aptly expressed the mood that prevails among some Indonesians with his post-presentation comment that "the government should concentrate on improving the people's social welfare instead of spending more money on defense."
This would have been true enough, of course, under ordinary circumstances. Taking into consideration, however, that the security situation is at present far from ordinary -- and indeed, that it is threatening Indonesia's very survival as a nation -- the practical wisdom of such a statement can be debated.
Ever since the fall of the New Order regime of President Soeharto in May 1997, the police and the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) have time and again demonstrated their inability to effectively cope with major crises. The continuing unrest and killings in Aceh and Maluku offer but two of the most dramatic illustrations of this incapability.
Long outstanding cases of legal and human rights violations committed either by the military/police institution or by rogue members in their ranks remain to this day unresolved. In such a situation, civilian politicians less concerned with the security and well-being of the nation than with the consolidation of their own power are trying to exploit the situation.
Obviously, there is an urgent need for the government to take some resolute measures to end the various conflicts and conspiracies that are threatening to tear this nation apart. To be able to do this, however, it needs to have the machinery to ensure that orders are properly and effectively carried out. This can only mean that professional standards within the police and military must be upgraded, not least regarding their intelligence gathering and processing capabilities so that trouble can be detected and averted before it has the chance to erupt and spread.
For these reasons the increased budget allotment to improve the effectiveness of the police and armed forces is justified, especially since the Rp 1.2 trillion increase represents a mere 10 percent over the previous year's budget -- far less than the 62 percent increased proposed several months ago by Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono.
Still, one rather disturbing question remains. Given the overpowering political role which the Indonesian military have apportioned to themselves in recent years, isn't there danger for Indonesia's budding democracy in allowing them to rebuild their strength?
The obvious answer, unfortunately, is yes, there is. That is why the increased funding must also cover education and training to turn the Indonesian national police and military into truly democratic law-abiding institutions that are capable of imparting a sense of security and well-being among the people -- or, to borrow the newly coined military terminology, to help them reposition themselves in Indonesian society.
This is the crucial point that must not for a moment be overlooked in defining a new role for the Indonesian national police and military. But to simply deny them the money they need to become truly effective guardians of the nation's security is to miss the point of the issue.