[Kabar-indonesia] 'Lack of leadership remains the nation's chronic problem' - Ahmad Syafii Maarif

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post 
Saturday, August 19, 2006

'Lack of leadership remains the nation's chronic problem'

After 61 years, Indonesia is still struggling to uphold unity amid diversity, 
as evident in the Indonesian Survey Institute's finding that people in the 
country are less tolerant of neighbors of a different faith. Scholar and former 
Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif spoke to The Jakarta Post's Dwi 
Atmanta

on the need for nation building.

Question: Is nationalism still in place and relevant in the country?

Answer: Nationalism takes the form of anticolonialism, anti-oppression, 
anti-exploitation. But our mistake is we have reduced nationalism to the fight 
against foreign parties. We are not aware that we can oppress, exploit, colonize 
or discriminate against our own nation. Nationalism should lead to the 
elimination of those practices.

That's why we need a reorientation. We have to resist whoever exploits or 
discriminates against others, even if they are our elders. Nationalism has not 
been well ingrained within the youth, which is not surprising, because they do 
not find any examples.

Do you mean the problem starts from the leaders?

Yes. We lack leaders who can act as role models. After 61 years of 
independence, I think we need to promote leaders whom people will look up to. Without 
such leaders, the masses will be disorientated and lose common sense. The nation 
will be in disorder without any public figures who can lead by example.

Leadership is the only problem that our nation has failed to address since 
independence. As an old Greek proverb goes, when a fish starts to rot it always 
starts from the head. Therefore, with all due respect to our founding fathers, 
let's be critical of their mistakes.

Bung Karno (the founding president) deserves to be honored for uniting the 
nation and breaking the yoke of colonialism. To a certain degree he succeeded in 
building our national character. But he failed to develop the country. If you 
ask the noted poet Rendra, Sukarno repeated the politics of colonialism that 
he had fought against. Sadly he did not feel guilty. The same can be said of 
his successor Soeharto. Both were great leaders, but have refused to admit 
their mistakes.

People badly need examples. Our current president has vowed to lead the fight 
against corruption. But after two years, many big fish are still at large. 
The anticorruption drive needs acceleration, as we are pressed for time.

A survey found that Indonesians are becoming less tolerant of differences. 
How do you perceive this?

I don't think this depicts the general condition. People who cannot respect 
different ethnic groups or faiths are small in number, but they are outspoken. 
In the case of jihadis who fought in Afghanistan and other places in the name 
of religion, they represent people who have lost hope and are willing to die. 
People must struggle to live, not to die.

Interfaith relations in the country have so far been well maintained, but 
apparently only among the leaders. Interfaith dialog at the grass roots needs 
further promotion.

Intolerance of course threatens nationalism. People who cannot accept 
differences tend to try to monopolize the truth, and even hijack God. It will be 
dangerous if they assume power, because they will establish a Taliban regime in 
the country.

What we can do now is improve our education. Political parties, in 
particular, do not share the responsibility of educating people, which is regrettable. 
Politics has become a field to seek wealth. Look at an elected regent who is 
facing prosecution for allegedly using a fake diploma. He simply said: "My 
diploma could be fake, but my banknotes (to buy votes) are not".

All these things are part of who we are. Let's accept them and try to heal 
ourselves.

Do you worry about the trend toward extremism?

It depends. If the government and the public alike are not concerned about 
the matter, it will be worrying. But I don't think the political changes that 
led Hamas to victory in the elections in Palestine will happen here. The 
mainstream is still under the control of Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama. As long as 
the two maintain their principles there is nothing to be afraid of. Common 
sense still prevails in the two organizations.

The two Muslim groups have insisted that the state ideology, Pancasila, which 
promotes tolerance and mutual respect, is not negotiable. The tragedy of 
Pancasila is the fact that it is sanctified in words, but is betrayed in deeds. 
The principles of Pancasila have never been translated into actions either by 
our leaders or by us.

What are the most daunting challenges for the country in the future?

We are facing a tough challenge in defending our territory. Our armed forces 
lack facilities to keep our sovereignty intact, so if we are invaded by 
another country we will vanish. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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