Learning from past mistakes

By Aleksius Jemadu, Bandung

While we all sympathize with Soeharto's suffering in his old age, we should not forget the fact that his years in power have brought tremendous consequences on what the nation looks like today. People are now debating what the nation should do with Soeharto. Some people argue that as a religious nation we should forgive him for his past mistakes. Others insist that he should be tried in absentia to account for his wrongdoings. It is also reported in the media that the government plans to restore Soeharto's reputation after taking into account his services to the nation.

To forgive Soeharto because of the deterioration of his health is one thing. But to restore his reputation while denying that some fatal mistakes were made during his rule is a totally different matter. Eight years have passed since Soeharto lost power, but Indonesian leaders have failed to provide some sort of legal certainty about his trial. The people's demand for a fair trial for Soeharto has become a political commodity used by some politicians as an easy way to boost their popularity.

One of the indicators of a successful leader is his or her ability to generate future leaders. Did Soeharto do this while he was in power? He did but the result was the emergence of politicians who were very loyal to him, but had an uncontrolled passion for political and economic appropriation. Thus, Soeharto was surrounded by opportunists who brought only shame to the nation.

To be fair to Soeharto for all good things he did for the nation, we have to acknowledge that he embarked upon three projects that any developing country must after they pass their post-independence turbulent years. Those projects were economic development, state-building and nation-building.

When Soeharto came to power in the mid-1960s he started from the correct assumption that Indonesia could only play an important role in international politics on the basis of the country's internal strengths. Thus, he abandoned Sukarno's radical foreign policy and endeavored to focus on economic development. We have to bear in mind that at about this same time South Korea also started its economic development under president Park Chung Hee.

But why is it that while South Korea has achieved the status of an industrial nation, Indonesia remains in the list of poor countries? How can we explain the fact that with limited natural resources South Korea has been able to achieve its development goals, but Indonesia has become one of the most indebted nations on earth?

Another contrast between South Korea and Indonesia is related to the fact that while South Korea managed to produce conglomerates that capable of exporting high value-added goods, Indonesia's conglomerates grew bigger because of monopolies and all kinds of business facilities given by Soeharto on a quid pro quo basis. Thus, 32 years of economic development were just wasted time, leading to the huge economic calamity in 1997.

Despite all our respect and sympathy for the ailing Soeharto, Indonesia should never forget his ill-designed economic policies so that the next generation does not repeat the same mistakes.

The best way to evaluate whether Soeharto was successful in promoting state-building and nation-building is to look at the current state of our political institutions and the degradation of our national unity. As far as state-building is concerned, Soeharto acted more as a political strategist than a visionary statesman. Not only did he concentrate power in his own hands, he also repressed those opposed to his will.

When he was under pressure in the early 1990s he embraced conservative religious group and pitted them against Indonesia's democratic forces to weaken civil society organizations. What was most damaging to the social fabric of the nation was the practice of political favoritism which led to the extensive outbreak of inter-religious violence throughout the 1990s.

No wonder today our national unity is at its lowest point and all kinds of centrifugal forces have begun to disintegrate the nation. This is the result of the politicization of religion for the fulfillment of personal and sectarian ambition.

While it is up to the wisdom of the government to decide what to do with Soeharto's unresolved legal case, let us make it clear to the present and future generations that we should be aware of the mistakes committed by our former leaders and pledge to ourselves that we will not repeat these same mistakes in the future. If we fail to embrace the lessons of their mistakes, we will become one of the most miserable nations on earth.

Taken from The Jakarta Post