Dignity of the Nation

Many have continued to show off stupidity and absurd arrogance

Many have continued to show off courage with touching stupidity

Excerpts of Mustafa Bisri's poem: "State of ha ha hi hi"

In a completely open age, we continue to be treated to valueless parodies beyond the limit of decency. Figures with moral defects walk calmly to the political stage and fill public offices. Law enforcers have repeatedly been arrested while trading justice. Their "Majesty" swap the oath of office for money. Many state institutions mortgage honor and turn into lackeys of crime.

We suffer from a crisis of dignity when the plague to become powerful and voracious enters a symbiosis with evil and destructive elements. The values of nobility and virtue turn their back on authority and mandate. The desire to dominate belief covered with fanaticism is used to spread hatred, intimidate, rip through unity and split the public into two diametric poles: Lovers and haters.

Various reasons for the moral crisis and civility can be traced back to the nation's long absence from a learning process. The philosophy and practice of education are frail and overly large to form the nation's character, thereby leading to a mentality that is mushy, pragmatic, rowdy and likes bypasses. The failure to manifest the noble religious message makes the light of divinity and the embodiment of love fade. Consequently, the reality of daily social life is smeared with hatred, suspicion, anger, despair, destructive characters and depravity (Gary Zukaf, 1990: Seat of the Soul).

We are also vulnerable and often superficially hit by issues of the indigenous and non-indigenous. National Hero Rear Admiral John Lie (1911-1998) gave a straightforward definition: "The indigenous are people who clearly defend the interests of the state and the nation, while the non-indigenous are those who engage in corruption, extortion, blackmail and subversion."

Education and culture should be the roots of civilization, an absolute requirement for the proliferation of progress and the greatness of common sense. Education that is liberating, affirming the reasoning, developing skepticism, nourishing expression and imagination. Glorifying the process of "becoming human beings", based on the mastery of science, social affairs and culture. This is not just a matter of curriculum, accreditation, certification and other "clutter".

Education and quality research bring forth abundant creation and innovation. A number of countries, such Israel, the United States, China and South Korea, persistently sow the seeds of excellence to win the future through discoveries and the registration of thousands of patents, from startup businesses to the possession of advanced technology. Meanwhile, we are increasingly descending to become a nation of consumers.

Mental Revolution

Modern history provides clear evidence of how nations fundamentally transform themselves to achieve greatness. The West started with the Renaissance, Japan through the Meiji Restoration, China introduced the Cultural Revolution and continued with market socialism, South Korea raised the spirit of the Han River with the target of outperforming Japan, the country it was occupied by. In short, all originated from efforts to embody the strength of brain-characters, the superiority of reason for the sake of glorifying the dignity of the nation. South Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1992 whipped up the spirit of his people after his country was devastated in a civil war. "Even though we cannot achieve it on our lifetime, let's work hard for the sake of our grandchildren, so that they can live prosperously as those in other parts of the world."

That is an important lesson; no progress is obtained and achieved in a short time. There should be a "point of departure "that becomes a joint consensus and determination. President Jokowi has rolled out the Mental Revolution since the beginning of his administration. Unfortunately, the operational framework and the determination to guide the dissemination of the paradigm and mindset has not yet been sufficient to produce change. It needs authentic proof and significant change first in the scope of government bureaucracy.

One clue can be deducted from the suboptimal launch of the 12 economic deregulation packages to stimulate activity and growth. There are still barriers in the form of a lack of coordination between ministries and agencies at the central government and between the central and regional governments. Also, overlapping regulations continue toobstruct the realization of programs. The classic problems await radical solutions and the availability of leaders who are qualified to unravel the deadlock.

Historic task

When he decided to put his name forward as a US presidential candidate in 1959, John F Kennedy delivered a speech to launch the New Frontier to welcome future challenges he considered "not yet known and mapped". He invited the American people, the baby boomer generation that had not experienced war and economic hardship, to continue the legacy of tasks from previous presidents, namely the New Freedom of Woodrow Wilson and the New Deal of Franklin D Roosevelt.

Thirty years before Kennedy's speech, Bung Karno called on intellectuals of the Archipelago to be united in guiding the people to achieve independence, banish colonialism and imperialism. "Across the golden bridge of independence, we can freely organize the independent society of Indonesia which is solid, strong, healthy, eternal, and immutable." (Indonesia Sues, August 18, 1930).

He repeatedly reminded people to be aware of the danger of colonialism in a new guise, namely collaboration with the elite, destroying the sovereignty of the people and the livelihoods of the nation. "My struggle is easy, because it is about repelling invaders, but yours will be more difficult, because you have to stand against your own people."The historic tasks for the next generation had been mapped by the founding father of the republic, namely ensuring the growth of the people's intelligence and the laying of solid ground to ensure the equitable redistribution of welfare. The two require growth and a sustainable strengthening of national capacity. This is the pillar, a generic prescription for a progress-hunting nation.

The strengthening of national capacity requires the creation of a level playing field that is fair at all levels of education and business. Quality education and the development of entrepreneurial character must be comprehended as human capital investment, so that opposing cost considerations become less relevant. The cost of higher education and the lack of research limit the ability of the nation to get out of backwardness.

Welfare will only grow strong and large and spread on the basis of a chance for many economic actors to take part. The fact is, all developed countries with stable politics have a similar character: the majority of the population is productive, intelligent and equal. Inequality, poverty and unemployment will continue to haunt us if the state fails to establish an equitable basis for "hotspots" of growth. Pragmatism in engineering the economic slowdown will hardly achieve lasting progress.

The conjuncture of the world economy is filled with uncertainty, especially after Brexit. Given its scale and integration into the global market (quoting Joseph Stiglitz, 1998), our economy is like a small boat that sails across the ocean with great tides. The best defense is to foster and strengthen the structure of independence, so as not to continuously suffer from being engulfed by the storm of crisis.

During previous regimes, various policies and the choice of strategic development increasingly pushed back the sovereignty and independence of the nation.

The striking deficit of socio-economic balance in the form of the deterioration of the nation's character, injustice and destruction of natural resources, is more than enough valuable learning material for the authorities to proclaim a great vision and execute substantial policy.

by Suwidi Tono

source Kompas, Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Indonesian version can be read here