An
Act of Faith
Sondang Sirait Rahardja, A FORMER JOURNALIST AND CURRENTLY SERVES AS ASSISTANT TO THE
PRESIDENT’S SPOKESMAN
Sumber
: JAKARTA POST, 24 Februari 2012
In
his book A History of Warfare, British military historian John Keegan writes
that war embraces much more than politics; it is always an expression of
culture, often a determinant of cultural forms, in some societies the culture
itself.
Here at home, a silent war is brewing and tension is high. No, it’s not the kind of war that employs artillery and mortar tactics. It’s not the majority vs minority kind, either.
But rather, this silent war at home is defined by a kind of intolerance that eliminates the use of logic and reasoning.
Take, for example, Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto who has taken the inherent right to religious freedom away from a small number of his own constituents of different faith.
Never mind that the Supreme Court has decided in favor of those few people. Never mind that the democracy that propelled him to office through direct elections is the same concept that respects the judicial system.
Political analysis suggests his action isn’t hurting his standing among his base voters; in fact, it might even strengthen his extremist image.
His supporters, near and far, support him for amplifying their beliefs. Forget the media or the national outcry, in his jungle, the king is his own law.
Nearby, in Bekasi, masses take over the streets demanding higher minimum wages, as promised by the local regent, partly from a politically driven motive that pays no heed to the legal mechanisms, which would otherwise require lengthy tripartite discussions.
Ironically, actions speak louder than words. Through pressure, the masses win. These days, Indonesian Workers Association chairman Timbul Siregar is targeting the pressure points of Indonesia’s economy to win more wage hikes.
Just days earlier, angry mobs in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, burned down the offices of their nonchalant regent, demanding the revocation of a mining concession deemed to be problematic. In the end, Bima Regent Ferry Zulkarnain caved in.
Speaking to the press about the incident, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said he regretted that the revocation only took place after the people became angry, and warned that concession issuance should always seek to obtain approval from local people first. (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 27) Dozens of people were detained by the police and to this day investigations are ongoing.
Aggressiveness is when a person grows the habit of pushing and shoving to get what he wants. But when such intolerance becomes collective, multiplying in number and growing in influence, it’s time to issue a red flag warning. Primarily, because this country we live in is not a primeval forest.
We are the world’s third-largest democracy. Indonesia paved the way to reform long before countries in the Middle East entered their awakening period.
In the past 14 years we have redefined our electoral system and seen our middle class leading the country to an economic boom.
We’re supposed to be talking about improving welfare and wealth, creating equal opportunities and maturing democracy.
Like in any democracy enacting checks and balances, here too we recognize the existence of legislative, judicial and executive powers. However, unlike in mature democracies, the system we live in is still fragile.
The question now is whether to discard that system altogether and declare this country a failed state, or to acknowledge that it is imperfect and that we need to work on it.
From day one of our reforms, we were aware that this was going to be our very own Indonesian experience. Four presidents and Five cabinets later, the work is far from done, and will still require hard work in the times to come.
It is, and always will be, the responsibility of the government to show leadership. All the government asks for now is for its citizens not to lose faith, especially in this silent war, keeping in mind that in the end, what becomes of it could determine our cultural forms. ●
Here at home, a silent war is brewing and tension is high. No, it’s not the kind of war that employs artillery and mortar tactics. It’s not the majority vs minority kind, either.
But rather, this silent war at home is defined by a kind of intolerance that eliminates the use of logic and reasoning.
Take, for example, Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto who has taken the inherent right to religious freedom away from a small number of his own constituents of different faith.
Never mind that the Supreme Court has decided in favor of those few people. Never mind that the democracy that propelled him to office through direct elections is the same concept that respects the judicial system.
Political analysis suggests his action isn’t hurting his standing among his base voters; in fact, it might even strengthen his extremist image.
His supporters, near and far, support him for amplifying their beliefs. Forget the media or the national outcry, in his jungle, the king is his own law.
Nearby, in Bekasi, masses take over the streets demanding higher minimum wages, as promised by the local regent, partly from a politically driven motive that pays no heed to the legal mechanisms, which would otherwise require lengthy tripartite discussions.
Ironically, actions speak louder than words. Through pressure, the masses win. These days, Indonesian Workers Association chairman Timbul Siregar is targeting the pressure points of Indonesia’s economy to win more wage hikes.
Just days earlier, angry mobs in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, burned down the offices of their nonchalant regent, demanding the revocation of a mining concession deemed to be problematic. In the end, Bima Regent Ferry Zulkarnain caved in.
Speaking to the press about the incident, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said he regretted that the revocation only took place after the people became angry, and warned that concession issuance should always seek to obtain approval from local people first. (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 27) Dozens of people were detained by the police and to this day investigations are ongoing.
Aggressiveness is when a person grows the habit of pushing and shoving to get what he wants. But when such intolerance becomes collective, multiplying in number and growing in influence, it’s time to issue a red flag warning. Primarily, because this country we live in is not a primeval forest.
We are the world’s third-largest democracy. Indonesia paved the way to reform long before countries in the Middle East entered their awakening period.
In the past 14 years we have redefined our electoral system and seen our middle class leading the country to an economic boom.
We’re supposed to be talking about improving welfare and wealth, creating equal opportunities and maturing democracy.
Like in any democracy enacting checks and balances, here too we recognize the existence of legislative, judicial and executive powers. However, unlike in mature democracies, the system we live in is still fragile.
The question now is whether to discard that system altogether and declare this country a failed state, or to acknowledge that it is imperfect and that we need to work on it.
From day one of our reforms, we were aware that this was going to be our very own Indonesian experience. Four presidents and Five cabinets later, the work is far from done, and will still require hard work in the times to come.
It is, and always will be, the responsibility of the government to show leadership. All the government asks for now is for its citizens not to lose faith, especially in this silent war, keeping in mind that in the end, what becomes of it could determine our cultural forms. ●
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