An overzealous move by members of the House of Representatives to launch a motion against the government over the Sidoarjo mudflow, the second tabled by the House after the Iran motion, only strengthens public suspicion that Indonesians are good at destroying, but bad at building.The mudflow issue, which has persisted for more than one year, is undoubtedly more important than the Iran motion. No other country is questioning their government's policy on Iran. Vice President Jusuf Kalla, for example, recently questioned why there was such a big fuss over the absence of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the House session on Iran, citing that legislators had not protested when Megawati Soekarnoputri had sent officials on her behalf when as president, she faced such motions. "The government is asking for fairness, so we can think over other issues ...," Kalla said. The writer is neither a supporter nor sympathizer of the Yudhoyono government.
However, criticism must be objective -- including in the political world. The danger is the motions, if not tackled properly, could spill out of control and lead to attempts to bring down the Yudhoyono administration halfway into its five-year term. Or, is this the goal the House members are trying to achieve? The government is clearly dragging its feet in handling key issues including the mudflow disaster, which has displaced thousands of people and affected East Java's economy. Turning every issue into a motion is, however, not good for the nation, which has endured four governments over the last nine years. Politicians in and outside the House should reconsider the motion and focus on more strategic and pressing issues. People don't want to know about politics, they want jobs and food. The entry of 2.5 million school and colleague fresh graduates into the job market in 2007 is forecast to increase the number of unemployed from 10.9 million to 13.4 million. No positive light has been shed in the employment sector -- at least, not in the near future -- with foreign investors not being attracted to the country and others relocating their ventures to countries like Malaysia, Vietnam and China. But the biggest misfortune is that the government is acting as though its "business is usual".
On other hand, Vietnam, for example, now offers online applications for investment licenses that take only one day to process, against the 97 days promised by Indonesia. Indeed, the Yudhoyono government has fallen short of its promise to generate millions of jobs, fight corruption and tackle poverty. So serious is the problem of poverty that more and more people have chosen suicide as a way out. The most striking example is the recent deaths of five people from a family in Siak regency, Riau, who could no longer endure economic hardship. The media reported on June 1, a 67 year-old resident of Bekasi, an area east of Jakarta, decided to end her life due to economic hardship. If we take a look at the experiences of other countries, there is always a positive side in the testing time of a crisis. The history of Japan, China and Korea shows us that their phenomenal development was intertwined with the advancement of human resources.
More development resources should be allocated to the economic sector and there should be a focus to improve training and human resources. The House, which approves the budget, can force the government to increase funding for the education sector, although this may be an unrealistic expectation -- to meet the constitutional obligation of 20 percent of the budget allocated to education. Through quality education and by instilling good morals, the country will progress. Indeed, a destructive attitude is not a weakness of politicians alone. Despite their honorable missions, many NGOs, for example, continue to undermine the government and the public are fond of ridiculing it. The buzzword which accurately reflects this negative attitude in our society is gaya katak (frog style), whereby ambitious people who want to move ahead kick down their colleagues by using any means. It is also difficult to find seniors in our society who act as good mentors for their subordinates. Juniors who lack guidance and a good role model will often pursue careers without heeding to morality. So it is not uncommon to see key positions in organizations filled by people with limited qualifications, but who are very obedient.
These people are willing to do almost anything to meet their own desires, including discrediting their colleagues and pandering their bosses. Japan and China are countries Indonesia can learn from on how to build human resources. In Japan, for example, the success of a senior in his job is measured by his success in grooming his subordinates, while China gives high respect to people who have completed higher education by providing special facilities to practice and increase their knowledge. In general, Indonesians lack good role models and politicians can fill this vacuum if they want to be seen in a positive light -- as builders and not destroyers. So despite its shortcomings let's support this democratically elected government for two more years and vote for another party in the 2009 election.
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