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Letter: On Indonesian complexity
Wed, 05/28/2008 12:53 PM | Reader's Forum
I am writing in response to Tomasso Tettamanti's letter on Indonesia complexity. Tettamanti does provide a valid argument; however, it is misleading to suggest that it would be better off for non-Javanese people to demand independence from what Tettamanti calls the "Javanese Empire".
First, I am not Javanese and not writing to defend the Javanese. And I don't feel the necessity to crawl to the Javanese either. The reason is simply because I am very proud of my own roots (Malay Palembang, Arab, Chinese plus Sundanese).
Second, Tettamanti points at Singapore, which for him is surely better off after separating from Malaya. It seems that Tettamanti has forgotten that when Singapore became independent, this small country had a relatively strong economic and financial structure, which enabled the Singaporeans to integrate with global economic and financial systems. It was the right moment in time for Singapore to be independent.
Would the same thing happen if some small islands in Indonesia become independent? Would Belitung be better off? Would Natuna be a rich oil state? Would the Tukang Besi islands be an international offshore financial center where the Haves of the world park their money? I very much doubt it.
Let us just be realistic. These days, it's more and more difficult to be independent, especially when you are small. The world when Singapore became independent is not the same as the world today.
Third, why do we only look at the success story of Singapore? Shouldn't we also look at a story of a country which became independent at the wrong moment in time? For example, Timor Leste.
If non-Javanese should demand independence from the "Javanese Empire" as Tettamanti said in his letter, I think life would be very complicated for someone who is really mixed like me. I would dread to choose whether I had to live in the Malay land, Parahyangan land of the Sundanese people or in some Arab/Chinese town.
This is the reason why despite people like Tettamanti judging Indonesia as a horrible, dreadful and miserable country, I still love the idea of an Indonesian nation. The reason is because the essence of this Indonesian nationhood provides a space for someone like me.
Last but not least, Tettamanti should be more sensitive when he expresses an opinion in a respected newspaper. Just to give you an idea of how mixed I am, let me tell you my complete name: R. Iyan Nurmansyah bin Hadji Muchidin Noordin (y*n is Chinese by the way, which means flame).
IYAN NURMANSYAH
East Sussex, England
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Vidya Narayani (not verified) — Thu, 05/29/2008 - 9:28am
Vidya Narayani -- Magister Management UGM Yogyakarta
Well, let us (as indonesian citizens) be a little more positive about the country's current situation, be a nationalist for a bit instead of complaining all the time.
Lets face it, we are in the growing stage (although all over again) and hurdles are bound to come up. I dont think the government is doing such a bad job. They are trying to get the economic situation better, and we are not helping them if we keep complaining on every step they take, let alone separating ourselves into independent states. It would just make things worse. More than anything we need to survive this ordeal together as a nation, a nation that is rich in its ethnicity.
Sure, we are facing floods in jakarta every now and then. But Im sure the government already has a list of things to be done to get the country back on track. We just need to be more patient and give them time to sort things out. We chose the government for this same reason. Increasing the oil price is not something the government loves to do either. But again remember, we still get subsidy from them, thats a way to save us in some way isn't it?
So instead of complaining and coming up with independence idea, lets just support the government for once and trust that they will do something good for us.
Vidya
Tomaso Tettamanti, Lugano Switzerland (not verified) — Wed, 05/28/2008 - 3:50pm
Bpk Iyan, like several other critics of my letters hasn't really understood my message. I paid a lot of taxes and in spite of that, still had to pay "more" when it was time to renew my driver's license or get through immigration. I lived through Jakarta's February 2007 flood which caused chaos in the lives of so many poor people. Any taxpayer has a "right", if not responsibility, to voice his concerns when there is free press.
I originally wrote in response to The Post's May 3rd editorial "Wake up, Minister Djoko", which made fun of him for using polysyllabics like "paradigm, coherent, holistic and sustainable" in regards to addressing Jakarta's myriad of problems which were there enumerated: "congested roads...chaotic transportation...water shortages...severe impact of flooding". The editorial went on to conclude that the central government has a role to play in resolving these problems.
So the idea I threw out for consideration was for the Javanese to abandon their neighbouring islands, the governance of which is using up so many security resources and the attention of the national government. We can observe by the neglect by both the city government in Jakarta and the National Government that the problems of Jakarta are NOT being resolved. Indonesia is on the edge of being a failed state. Spiralling food and fuel prices are huge accidents waiting to happen.
If the Javanese declared independence from Indonesia, they would be much better off! For then they could focus on their own problems and not worry about what is happening in Papua or Aceh, etc. They could give their daughters educations beyond primary school and protect them having to live their lives in servitude as maids in the Middle East.
The ancient city-state of Athens was a wonderful effloresence of culture which created the theatre, modern democracy and leadership in Greece against its rival, Persia. However, Athens got off-track when it sought to create an empire and dominate other Greek city-states and then to fight the city of Sparta. Similarly, Rome over-reached itself when it tried to dominate the whole known world. The Javanese may have already over-reached their ability to govern such a large territory.
Timor Leste continues to have problems from the "sour grapes" which were aligned with the TNI. If the Indonesian military had respected President Abdulwahid's leadership on East Timor, then East Timor's independence would have gone much more smoothly. But, although Gus Dur was Javanese, he wasn't a general.