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Politicians and Leaders in Indonesia:

Please Watch Your Words!

01/31/03

Once Albert Einstein said, “If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.”

By keeping one’s mouth shut, Einstein did not mean one must not speak up and express his concern or opinion. Rather, one must watch his words. As the old proverb says, “Watch your tongue because it is your lion,” one’s words could be so dangerous that it could destroy others’ lives including his own. However, we also often hear, “One lovely word can heal a deeply wounded heart and bring peace to many.”

In a world where turmoil, conflicts and cold hearts are daily menu, the choice of words that one conveys to others really does make a big difference.

In a world where truth is twisted very frequently, reminding people about their conscience can make a big difference.

In a world where facts are often presented in a very imbalanced way, making efforts to provide balanced facts to others can make a big difference.

In a world where messages and information are often filled with destructive consequences, providing constructive perspectives to others can make a big difference.

And in a world where perceptions of reality and of other people are often influenced by one’s personal conviction, reminding people about the invaluable of human beings can make a difference.

As the Indonesian domestic problems, from economic, politics to security are mounting most Indonesians these days are frustrated and disappointed. And as war in Iraq seems inevitable, most people in the world are anxious and fearful of the worst.

Frustration, disappointment and anxiousness are all conditions that indicate a disequilibrium in the people’s mind and emotion. A little bit more twist could blow people’s mind up in such a way that they would not be able to distinguish between good or bad.

Moreover, although faced with the same reality, different people could interpret them differently. In an emotionally imbalance condition, a little bit more twist, could make people completely unable to interpret reality.

Politicians love to play with people’s emotion and mind because they believe that with a little bit more twist, they could win their sympathy and votes. But in an emotionally imbalance condition, their twists could backfire since people are no longer able to see reality in a clearer way. Instead of building a solid long term base for politicians’ legitimacy, people’s action could destroy the base.

Let’s take an example from the latest domestic developments – the government’s plan to cut subsidies which was nullified later – which have sparked controversial initiatives by politicians. Politicians, for instance, initiated the so-called the “Caucus for Rescuing the Nation.” (Source: Sinar Harapan) on Jan 05, 2003.  A week later, People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker, Mr. Amien Rais said that Megawati’s position was in jeopardy (Source: The Jakarta Post).  The initiative and statement, combined with the widespread of street rallies, had led some speculations that there was a movement to bring the government down.  In the following week, Coordinating Ministry of Politics and Security, Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated that there was a discourse on bringing the government down. (Source: Sinar Harapan).  

Amid people’s frustrations and disappointment, these politically driven initiatives and statements would amplify people’s frustration and anger. And worse, rather than focusing on the core issues, price hikes and economic revival plans, it could lead people to think of a different issue: power. It is no wonder that the question tended to become “how to replace Megawati” rather than “how to improve the nation.”

In the end, neither the politicians nor the public could think clearly what initiatives that must be done do to revive the nation’s economy.

Another example is from the international developments. The US and UK pressure on Iraq to admit and destroy their Weapons of Mass Destruction by threatening a military force has triggered inappropriate responses from domestic politicians and “leaders”. One of them is

Mr. Ahmad Syafii Maarif, chairman of Muhammadiyah, which claims 30 million members in the world's most populous Muslim country.Syafii said US President George Bush was suffering from paranoia.

"This man is sick. He clings to a delusion that the world is against him," he said, describing the United States as latter-day imperialists.

"They were not there when the British, Dutch, French and Italians enjoyed their heyday in the 16th century. They only grabbed the Philippines in the late19th century from the Spaniards," he said.

Muhammadiyah in a statement urged Indonesians to express their opposition to war in Iraq peacefully.

Source: The Jakarta Post

How could one expect the folks to protest peacefully while the leader himself uttered very inappropriate and angry words? There is a rule of conduct in the international relations. Unless the other nation is your enemy, leaders are bound to respect other nation’s leader.  The same words uttered by an ordinary folk like me, who does not have followers, would have little impact on others. But from a chairman of 30 million members (so far there is no verification of this number), the story is different.

People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker, Mr. Amien Rais, also did not make matter better when he said that the Indonesian government is coward because it fails to show strong objection to the US’s plan on war in Iraq.  In a more detail statement, Mr. Rais raised three speculations of the US reason to pressure Iraq with military force.  Source: Tempo Interaktif.

Rather than providing a more appealing objection, such as arguing that the war would create a huge loss of lives and induce regional insecurity, Mr. Rais was engaging in speculative words which tend to wage people’s emotion but not rationality. Rather than educating the mass with more balanced facts, Mr. Rais failed to see the dangers which are posed either by war or inaction.

The above statements are most likely driven by a political agenda. While the statements might benefit the politician and leader, they will hurt the nation both in the short-run and long-run. 

As Herman Melville once said, “A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things,” politicians in the country apparently think that by mouthing harsh or speculative words, they could educate the mass and improve the nation. In fact, they are wrong.

In an emotionally disequilibrium society, due to economic, political and security problems, inspiring messages and positive perspectives from leaders and politicians are badly needed. Will Indonesian people ever get them?

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