One may ask, “Are we progressing now?”
It depends on how we define the word “progress”. It depends on what kind of yardstick we use to measure our progress. If we use the number of super malls, skyscrapers, luxurious housing and shopping complexes as the major yardstick – then yes, we are progressing.
But if we use the overall welfare of people as the yardstick, then we are not progressing at all. It is really hard for our officials to digest the fact that their statistics on the number of people still living below the poverty line may not be correct.
Perhaps they do not like to face this truth, because otherwise their lifestyles and their salaries with benefits would not be justified. They cannot live in comfort while the people who voted for them do not.
Day after day, we hear of yet another bank, another business, another ailing industry being taken over by the multinationals. They have even penetrated our retail market.
That is the economic sector. If we look at the other sectors, the situation is no less gloomy. In the education sector, our main “achievement” has been widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Education has become a commodity with different grades of quality. Your pocket decides what grade you can afford for your children.
So what must be done?
Let us begin by capitalizing on what we have already achieved– the freedom of expression of thought. This freedom must be used very intelligently, and therefore let us first bring some changes to our education system.
Value-based education as envisioned by our father of education, Ki Hadjar Dewantara, is the only solution. Religious-based education has not served our society well. It has created divisions among us.
It is very sad to hear our officials greeting us, their fellow countrymen and women, in a foreign language. Can’t we use our own Indonesian language to greet each other? If Rahayu (Peace and Prosperity) is considered too Javanese, then let us use Salam Sejahtera (Be Prosperous) or Salam Indonesia (Peace to Indonesia).
I was flying with our national flag carrier when the captain greeted passengers using Arabic. I am not against Arabic, Arabs or the way they greet each other, but its use by the captain of our national flag carrier to greet Indonesians and foreigners who are not Arabs does not make any sense.
We need radical change. Our officials and House of Representatives (DPR) members need to change their old habits. We, living on 17,000-plus islands, need the national language to unite us.
Our founding fathers were not fools when they gave us the mantra: Satu Bahasa — one language. The way we greet each other reflects our identity. And we must assert our identity as Indonesian above all other sub-identities. Our religion and our emotional ties with the Middle East, China, India, Japan or the West are private and personal matters. The general public and the government have nothing to do with these personal matters.
Nearly 63 years after our independence we are still questioning the ideological base of our Constitution. While the government has declared this year to be the 100th year of national awakening, one can even hear some people speaking zealously against it. They would rather make 1905– the year Syarikat Islam was formed– the year of national awakening.
In order to bring about some meaningful change in our economic and education sectors, we must first unite as a nation. Right now, our unity is superfluous. Like it or not, the fact is we are already divided on several major issues.
In the economic sector we must go back to the ideals of one of our founding fathers, Muhammad Hatta. It is not the large corporations that we need – but cooperation, cooperative societies. We need to revive our own Pasar (market) culture, our own traditional markets.
In the education sector let us teach our children all the universal values as enshrined in all religions. Let us open them to religiousness, to the essence of all religions. Let us not divide them in the name of religion.
Last but not least- the national identity issue. This can only be resolved if our history is rewritten as one continuous history of Indonesia – and not divided in Animist, Hindu, Buddhist, Islam and Christian or Western phases. Our children must be proud of this nation’s history right from the dawn of civilization, its achievements in the past and the beauty of its culture.
Once these issues are resolved, once we stand united, the sky is the limit. Nay, we can even progress beyond the skies.
Anand Krishna , Jakarta , | Wed, 03/12/2008 1:35 AM | Opinion