Indonesian politics need to work for its diverse population by Anand Krishna

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Indonesian politics need to work for its diverse population

by Anand Krishna

10 April 2007

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Jakarta – Political philosopher, Niccolo Machiavelli and Sun-Tzu, author of the Art of War, may have lived thousands of miles apart, they may have hailed from different continents and may have never met each other -- but they spoke the same language. They always agreed that all is fair in politics and war, and that there are no permanent friends and foes; that is, it is often necessary to "use" people to attain political goals and objectives.

The Hindu deity Krishna seems to be standing alone on the historical battlefield of Kurukshetra, India with a totally different message. The message is now, after 5,000 years, being appreciated the world over, as reported by Business Week, both in their international and national editions last year. Krishna is against the use of people.

He is willing to work for people without self-interest. He is not a member of any political party. He is not looking for support or votes. He is with the people, among the people, to serve them.

One of our founding fathers, the first Indonesian president, Sukarno, understood this message. As a public servant, he considered his duty and responsibility towards the people of Indonesia to be above his personal, political and party interests. This is something that has yet to be understood by our politicians today - diplomats, bureaucrats, military and civil personnel – and by all of us.

It is high time that our politicians decide whether they want to stand by Machiavelli and Sun Tzu, or by Krishna. Whether they want to use people and make use of their positions -- or to serve the people.

Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan, very bravely admits in his autobiography that when we use people, we must also be prepared to be used. He mentions the Afghan mujahideens. It is no longer a public secret that they were assisted by the then Pakistani government, the Saudi regime and the CIA in the mid-1980s.

This, in time, gave birth to the Taliban. The rest is history.

Prior to that, the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, used religion and religious issues to create his dream-state. Later, after the birth of the nation, he made public his vision of Pakistan as a free state where followers of different faiths could live together in peace and harmony, facing dissent from some of his more radical followers.

His successors, from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, all made use of religious sentiments. They gave in to demands made by the radical elements in their society. And the result is there for all to see. Now Musharraf is trying to transform the image of the country, but the task is not an easy one.

While Pakistan is trying to amend its past mistakes, it is rather surprising to see that we, in Indonesia, are making the very same mistakes. Pakistan had to pay a very high price for the mistakes it made, indeed it is still paying. What was once East Pakistan is now Bangladesh. Do we realise what the stakes are? Do we realise the social, cultural, political and economic costs of a single wrong move?

Bali was bombed twice, Jakarta several times, and certain areas torn apart by the use of religious sentiments; the radical elements in our society have successfully kept the whole nation hostage. Do we realise this? Are we doing something to free ourselves? Or we are still living under the illusion that this is business as usual?

When we were kids, we could play and eat and sit in the classroom with other kids. It did not matter if they were Muslims, Christians, Hindus or Buddhists. We were Indonesians. Now the situation is different. Right from a very tender age, our children are made to realise that they are different. Come the class for religious studies, they are separated. This sense of separation is engraved in their young minds.

No wonder, our politicians today see no problem in establishing separate wings based on religion. A political party that must serve the nation, and its people, irrespective of religious backgrounds and other differences is now separating its own staff and members based on religious background.

What we need today is the spirit of Sukarno, the courage of Attaturk, the mind of Roeslan Abdulgani (Cak Rus), the simplicity of Nurcholish Madjid (Cak Nur), and the vision of Abudurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), Emha Ainun Nadjib (Cak Nun), M. Dawam Rahardjo, Jalaluddin Rakhmat (Kang Jalal), Mohammad Sobari and others.

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* Anand Krishna is an interfaith humanist and nationalist. He has authored more than 90 books. This abridged article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.

Source: Jakarta Post, 5 April 2007, www.thejakartapost.com
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.


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