To Whom Does Indonesia Belong

When Indonesia is mentioned, what is imagined is possibly a nation entity, a state institution, a territory consisting of tens of thousands of islands and an expanse of ocean, or an assemblage of people of around 235 million registered as its citizens.

Out of all of these, the most real and tangible is a group of thousands of islands and the sea, but the number and width is still disputed. This does not include, too, the ability to control and manage the entire contents of its wealth, whether under the earth, in the air or in the sea, our nation is still very weak.

The term and concept of a nation, since the beginning of independence, has been recognized as having serious problems because when Bung Karno and Bung Hatta proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Indonesia, the image of the Indonesian nation itself was not yet clear or intact. What there was, was "the imagined Indonesia", a political ideal that united several hundreds of tribes in the archipelago into the big house of the state of Indonesia. Even the word Indonesia itself is the creation of an expatriate, the connotation of which is a geographical position rather than the name of a nation.

Therefore, Bung Karno and Bung Hatta were not only called to be the proclaimers of independence but also the weavers and founders of the nation. They captured the desire of the archipelago's population to have its own home state and nation, to be sovereign and dignified after dozens and hundreds of years of being humiliated and blackmailed by a colonial power.

In political theory, there is a term known as "social contract", in which citizens hand over their sovereignty to the government for it to create prosperity and security, as well as to educate their offspring. The government, as the receiver of the mandate, is responsible for the trust given by the people in exchange for its agreed upon political authority, facilities and salaries. However, in reality, we became citizens of this state not as a product of voluntary choice and social contract, but rather a historical destiny.

The government may possibly view the power in its hands as the result of it seizing upon a struggle at high cost, so it does not feel guilty when it enjoys state facilities as if they were the result of their hunt. The destiny of Indonesian citizens is similar to other people's diversity, which is generally the product of historical-sociological destiny, not struggle and conscious choice, like someone who becomes a scholar. However, there are still opportunities for people to choose their own religion and citizenship after becoming an adult.

Dispute

There is no agreed theory on which island population has the oldest civilization in this archipelago. The collective memory, which is prominent and binds our social cohesion, is that the archipelagic people want to stand up and be united as a nation that is prosperous, advanced and civilized, free from various forms of oppression and ending social fragmentation based on ethnicity, tribe, religion or social class.

Therefore, even though Indonesia has declared itself to be independent from invaders, as the people see that welfare and prosperity have not materialized equally, they will continue to feel colonized. What has changed is the actors of the invasion and their modus. In fact, through regional elections and general elections, the people always update their social contract to give their sovereignty to the government through political parties, specifically with the expectation that their ideals of freedom can really be realized and felt. The question, which occurs when the regional elections and general elections are over, is whether the political parties are aware of the mandate given by the people and have chosen their best members so that they are able to realize the mandate of the people? At a glance, the portrait of this archipelago has aspects that have not changed over time. Namely, it is always the object of dispute for foreign powers that collaborate with the nation's actors. So, who is the captain who controls Indonesia?

It cannot be denied that there are many foreign powers and cultures that have contributed greatly to moving the archipelagic civilization forward, especially the influence of foreign education and the penetration of religious cultures. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, all of which were incoming religions, have helped advance the civilization of the archipelago. Now there is another new religion: Confucianism. Interestingly, when religions enter and grow in Indonesia, they become more creative, thereby giving birth to a culture of diversity that is innovative, synthetic and more aesthetically pleasing compared to their place of origin.

Just look at the legacy of Prambanan temple, Borobudur and the Balinese Hindu communities, all of which are more beautiful than in India. The same also happens with Islam in Indonesia, which is richer in cultural dimension compared to that in the Middle East. The dimension of Islamic rituals remains the same and has not changed, but its social dimension is much more creative and richer than in Arab countries. The religion of Christianity for Indonesian Catholics is also the same. They understand far more about Islamic tradition than Christian communities in Europe and the United States because the factor of tribal fraternity helps form a bridge to create a harmonious interfaith and religious relationship. The tradition of Idul Fitri, for example, has become a national culture, not only celebrated by Muslims, and also has significantly strengthened social cohesion and inter-religious tolerance.

Generation of connoisseurs

But when it comes to political and economic solidarity, the picture and its problems are not as beautiful as the cultural aspects. There is no need to study to become an expert in observing the international economy and politics, we can see for ourselves the strength of the network of foreign investment and advanced industrial countries that dominates Indonesian natural resources and market share. Indonesia has the most raw materials needed by industrialized countries, but Indonesia itself finds it difficult to make the leap to become an industrialized country, so we are still only a nation of consumers.

Industrial society has an industrial mentality, which is different from agricultural and fishing communities. They are familiar and very aware of the meaning and function of modern technology to create added value in capitalizing on raw materials and natural resources. Innovation, competition and efficiency are the mantras for industrialized communities to boost their economies. They are conditioned to always be punctual and faithfully guard the process from upstream to downstream, right up to the process of marketing their products. In the marketing world, competition no longer relies on product quality, but on satisfaction and customer loyalty by adding aesthetic values, humanity and spirituality inherent to a product. The culture to serve is one of the elements of an industrialized mentality.

Unfortunately, nearly all the Islamic world is yet to experience the industrial revolution, even though the seeds of modern science, which are the pillars of industry, were initially invented by Muslim scientists in the middle ages. Perhaps only Turkey is relatively advanced in developing industry, a country that does not have oil resources like other Muslim countries. A Muslim county that is familiar with Western influences.

The main economic resources in the Arab world and Indonesia, for example, still depend heavily on the generosity of nature. The agrarian world does not develop, and has not entered the ranks of advanced industrialized countries. Meanwhile, foreign powers aggressively enter as economic players in Indonesia. The cultural ethos and understanding of religion grow but are always touted more as entertainment in the midst of rampant corruption and competition for political power. Borrowing the words of Ibn Khaldun, perhaps the post-45 generation has become trapped in a nation and generation of connoisseurs. A generation that is lazy, corrupt and never seriously carries out its historical mandate, which had been painstakingly built by the freedom fighters and which will, in turn, sink deeper into a generation of destroyers. If this is so, who really is the owner and authority in Indonesia?

by Komaruddin Hidayat

source Kompas, Thursday, July 14, 2016