Wishes for Indonesia's 60th Independence Day

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.