http://laksamana.net/read.php?gid=252
April, 10 2006 @ 08:51 am
Anxieties About Indonesia's Future
About two years ago a frustrated friend said in a discussion that he was fed up
with conditions existing in the country. He did not believe that the government
and the political system will ever be able to bring about significant
improvements. "What is the use of all these discussions?" he asked. "What is
the use of discussing ways to improve our governance system, our political
system, our bureaucratic system, and every other system we have? The
deteriorations within our society have been occurring much faster than the pace
of our efforts to repair and to rebuild. I doubt whether twenty years hence
this country still exists." I was dumbfounded.
I never have any doubt in the ability of this nation to survive crises. But
this is just my belief, and that particular friend of mine happens to believe
differently. And I know that in matters of belief one can never be sure which
is right, and which is wrong. I felt at the time, however, that I have to say
something to respond to my friend's statement. I think I said the following.
"You may be right, but you can also be wrong," I started. "No one can say with
certainty whether we will come out of the present crises weakened and
eventually perish, or whether we will come out strengthened and become a robust
nation. One thing I am sure of, however, is that as long as the sense of
nationhood is strong among the coming generations, this nation and this country
will prevail. The format of the state may change, but the nation will always be
there."
"I share your apprehensions about our future. But to me the question is not
whether we will survive or perish. To me the question is what must we do now to
ensure that this nation prevails. To me, one question we have to answer is how
to make the coming generations acquire a strong sense of Indonesian nationhood,
and make it into a torch of their individual and collective life."
"If we manage to do this, we will not make the same mistakes as Yugoslavia, a
country and a nation which became extinct and replaced by smaller states and
nations: Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, and Monte Negro. The difficult
question in this regard is how to reform our present system of education, to
enable it to effectively carry out this function."
That was about two years ago. Since then I have heard voices expressing similar
anxieties more and more frequently. About two months ago I heard someone
expressing his doubts concerning the execution of the 2009 general election. He
doubts, first, whether the 2009 general election will actually take place, and
secondly, whether the 2009 general election will bring about a national
government and a national parliament that will be better than the present ones.
To me this is an expression of a total loss of confidence in our political
system and our politicians. And my impression is that more and more people have
lost this trust. They no longer believe that our politicians have the ability
to exercise their political power intelligently, sincerely, and honestly. Add
to this the fact that thus far there is no single group visible in our society
that that has the will, the determination, and the ability to redress our
political course and reform our political culture, and it becomes very
difficult for anyone not to feel depressed and apprehensive.
Isn't this fear a little bit exaggerated? I do not know! My personal
experiences tend to reaffirm this fear. Another friend of mine told a story a
week ago that I found very shocking. This friend is a young man, about 35 years
old, and works in the field of international fund management. He told me that
in any international fund management company worthy of mentioning there is
always at least one Indonesian, bright and young, who works hard to be at the
top. These bright young executives have been focusing their attention on
creating a regional communication channel that will effectively links all parts
of Indonesia, and makes Indonesia a strong link in the regional communication
network. What eventually will pass through this channel is not a matter of much
concern to them. And how Indonesia will come out of this communication network
project is also none of their concern. Their main concern is that the companies
they represent will become the party that has the ultimate control of this
communication network project. Whether eventually American, European, Japanese,
Chinese, Australian, or Indian capital will dominate this international
undertaking is also a matter that does not concern them. And they just don't
care about the place and role of Indonesia in this project.
I am completely illiterate in matters related to business, national or
international, and I just have no way of knowing the extent to which this story
tells the truth. If, however, this story is true it certainly breaks my heart.
I just cannot imagine that there are young Indonesians who do not care about
Indonesia. This is simply absurd to me! But, on the other hand, I have no
reason not to believe my friend.
Who should take the blame for this situation? It is unfair in my opinion to put
the blame entirely on these young executives. Our politicians and our
bureaucrats should also carry part of the blame. It is they, in the first
place, who have created situations that make people unhappy and frustrated,
including these young executives. Granted these young executives constitute
only a small minority in our society, but they are the cores of our middle
class, a social stratum that always plays a crucial role in reforming or
remaking a society. If these people have lost hope in the future of the
country, then it will become nearly impossible to repair the damages inflicted
upon our society by our politicians and our bureaucrats.
How do we go from here? It depends upon what we want and what we do not want.
If we do not know what we want then it is impossible to say how and where to go
from here. Most of us know, I think, what we do not want. We do not want to see
our country crumble in the midst of global competition. We do not want to be
enslaved by any foreign country or foreign capital. We do not want to be
intimidated by any foreign power. This list can be extended ad infinitum. And
at the end of the list we will get a clear idea of what we want. From this
point on it will be easy to say what has to be done to avoid what we do not
want and to achieve what we want.
I, for one, would like very much to see that our education improves its ability
to cultivate among the young the sense of being part of the nation and to
foster hope for the future of this nation. This can be done only, in my view,
if we can develop a new educational paradigm that will create the spirit of
sharing in our schools. We must encourage our teachers to share anxieties and
hopes with the students. This spirit of sharing will evolve in our schools
gradually if we look upon every learning interaction as an opportunity for
learning to share knowledge and ignorance.
By: Mochtar Buchori | Category: Society & Culture
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg
Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny.
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