Wishes for Indonesia's 60th Independence Day

Wimar Witoelar, Jakarta

When your age is exactly the same as the number of years that have passed since your nation proclaimed independence it is hard not to approach the occasion of Independence Day from a personal perspective.

The Republic of Indonesia turned 60, and I turned 60 a month ago. The difference is that in 60 years a person learns many lessons in life, but have we learned as much as a nation? Are we entering a transition into maturity, or are we as insecure as ever?

One could make the excuse that even the greatest of the world's ships of state need hundreds of years to emerge from stormy weather. But today we cannot wait hundreds of years to get our act together. We have a more difficult time than the world's superpowers, which grew to greatness leaning on a world of ignorant peoples. The world is smarter now and we are trying to build a new ethical order. We must get things right without hurting too many people.

There is a major difference between 1945, the year independence was proclaimed, and 2005. The 60 years have been years of tremendous technological change and social progress. We now live in a connected age. Today's generation is a wired generation, bound together by the media and the internet which has created a global awareness of the human condition. Networks of human traffic, international trade, and ecological concerns pulsate every day with intense interaction.

Change is accelerated to an exponential degree. We have to learn faster because mistakes take a shorter time to have impact. The connected age also means that we live as a family of nations. We live on a small planet, all the nations of the world. Except for a few isolated countries, we have international trade, international laws, an international mail system, airlines, sports, what have you. So whatever a nation achieves, we must see it in the global perspective. We must measure progress not by comparing our present with our past, but by comparing our condition with the condition of other nations.

Indonesian faces serious challenges in that respect. It is difficult enough to be better than what we were. It is even more difficult to be better, or even as good as our neighbors. Looking back at the 60 years, we can say Indonesia is fine, it's all right. It is my country and I love it. But we cannot rely on nationalism when it becomes a constraint to progress. We have advanced considerably but we have gone backward with respect to the rest of the world. Our national soccer team is no longer the strongest in Southeast Asia, we no longer lead in exports even of natural resources, no longer exercise political leadership in the Third World. We are not competitive; Indonesia is off the world map except for news of disasters and conflict.

We are a good country and a great people, but we are a blemished nation. Indonesia is known less for its positives than for the atrocities in human rights abuse and the extreme scale of corruption of the Soeharto years, which refuse to go away. We know we are not like that. We know that we are a good people. We have strong family values, a high degree of pluralism and religious tolerance. We have energy and sensitivity and a very open democratic system.

The good things about Indonesia are her citizens, who are as diverse as those of any nation: different ethnic origins, different religions, different traditions, skills, education, aspirations. The democratic laws and institutions have recognized this plurality. But the practice and the culture are not adjusting well. We often run afoul of our ideals, because of the intervention of the state and domineering institutions.

Indonesia as a state should be brought closer to her people through effective communication and sharing of information. We should remember, first and foremost, that a nation exists because of her people, not the other way around. Nationalist symbols, the flag, the anthem, are fine. But state policies should not overrule the simple desires of real people. Nationalism should not destroy the humanity of the ordinary Indonesian. We must respect the individual, because we depend on them to lead Indonesia into the global age. We want to be connected, aware, tolerant, and productive. And we want the nation to respect our people. This is our greatest wish for Indonesia.

It is important to reflect on the good things we have, and not continue to live lives of quiet desperation. There is no reason for negativism, cynicism, apathy or pessimism. The past decades with their shortcomings, malpractice and maladjustment are parts of a learning process necessary to make us a great nation and a happy people. This I am sure is what Indonesia's founding fathers would say.

The writer is a political commentator. He can be reached at wimar@intermatrix.co.id.