Jakarta Tales Vol 6 (contd)
THE GREAT DICK... TATOR!
Whose fault is it? The 32 years of dictatorship by that bastard Soeharto who, under the garb of growing this country, grew only his personal wealth, centralized all control in Jakarta and left the country in tatters during the Asian economic crisis in 1998, all this thanks once again to the perpetually unwelcome but relentless support of our very own brothers of mankind – USA.
In fact, while I’m in this “kutte… kameene…” mood, here’s some startling information about Soeharto’s regime and the 1998 crisis (Wow, for once my blog is talking about some sensible stuff beneficial for humanity).
If you’re in Indonesia, you’ll often come across two eras in conversation – “those days” and today. “Those days” obviously refer to the pre-1998 days or the fairytale period when Indonesia and Malaysia were growing like Honey I Grew the Kids. Singapore was booming too like never before and all was merry in this part of the world. And then, the evil witch came and whacked everyone with her broom of economic crisis.
But lo, howcome Malaysia and Singapore escaped only with a few bruises while their Cinderella sister Indonesia lost her magic touch in minutes? The potion is called “sustainable development”. True, all three were growing like crazy but Malaysia and Singapore were “actually growing”, Indonesia was only pretending, or at least, those who were running Indonesia were. In Malaysia and Singapore, the purchasing power rested with the people, cash flow was well percolated and affluence wasn’t restricted to a privileged few. Transparency in decision making and “national development”, not “personal development” was at the forefront. It was an enjoy, let enjoy scenario.
But in our good ol’ Indonesia, it was “I’m enjoying, you can watch” kinda approach. I guess you see where the problem lay. Soeharto had banned all forms of protests, his was the final word and although things never got as bad as Saddam’s tyrannical ways, they were hardly better. The govt never revealed any reasoning behind policy. All major public service projects went to relatives, family and close friends. Freedom of press was curbed. The judicial system was bribed from top to bottom (something that’s disastrous for any country). Anyone who raised his/her voice was shown the way to the Pearl Gates.
The Chinese were almost driven out of the country because they were the only ones who made a little bit of noise. Those who didn’t or didn’t want to, converted to Islam and adopted Muslim names to get close to Soeharto and gain the fucking Lord’s blessings. Soeharto was such a despot he banned the teaching of Chinese as a language and spreading of Chinese culture. He blamed them for all of Indonesia’s troubles and sold this as opium to the vast majority of Muslims. The propaganda worked: love turned into hatred, brotherhood into enmity. The state’s coffers continued to be filled as generous infrastructure support poured in from Uncle Sam and cousins.
True, Jakarta grew during Soeharto’s tenure like never before. There was food on the table for everyone, the struggle for basic existence was minimal, he was instrumental in putting the city and country on the world map right in the line of competition with neighbouring KL and Singapore, he drove investment into the city and his pockets but the problem was, he treated the country like his family business.
So, when the disaster struck in 1997, people across Asia suffered, but it was the Indonesians who were devastated. Reality dawned on them – they bhad nothing to live with. Empty pockets, dry stoves, hungry stomachs. The youth had had enough. Bandung’s university students rose up in flames asking for Soeharto to step down. Other cities followed. The state’s corrupt ways and means were thrown out in the open. It was over.
But not yet. As poverty and hunger struck the once smiling and prosperous nation, suicides grew by the minute. Unemployment rose and the frustrated population took to the streets. The victim of their ire – the city where a despot promised streets of gold and money raining from the sky – Jakarta. Buildings were razed to ashes, houses were destroyed, businesses fled, people died, children cried and the riots continued in this vast capital for 3 days.
And worse, communalism had succeeded. Desperate, the vast majority of the Muslim population resorted to what Soeharto had preached for years – blame the Chinese. Most Chinese families in Jakarta and a few other parts of Indonesia lost their livelihoods, their families, their lives. In short, all that they had.
If you’ve read anything about communal violence, you’ll know that any such riot is impossible without state collusion anywhere in the world. It was no different here. The police were given orders not to stop any looting or killing for 3 days. On the third day, as Soeharto finally gave in with protests now going beyond control outside his luxurious presidential palace, the decree changed. TV stations were called to show how police were now controlling the violence and yes, shoot at sight incidents were captured “live” and telecast all over the country. The usually docile millions shuddered at the prospect of having to face the bullets. The violence came under full control within a week. Sanity prevailed.
When I was leaving my previous employers in India, some of my colleagues told me, "Indonesia is a fine country. The only problem is they are too volatile a populace." To everyone who agrees with this aforementioned statement and is reading this... YOU ARE SO WRONG! Indonesians are one of the most polite, calm, humble, warm and friendly people on this planet. But of course, watching what happened in 1998 and thereafter in the bomb blasts of 2002 and 2005 at Bali, who would believe it. Honestly, untill I came here, even I didn't.
Anyways, post 1998 restructuring efforts began soon and Indonesia is now back in action. Not as much as before but slowly getting there. And to everyone’s relief, most importantly, people from all religions have had complete freedom since then to practice and preach and the re-integration of Chinese culture in Indonesia has been in full swing. How do I know all this? General conversation and intrigue about what happened during those black, fateful days in 1998 and articles on the Internet.
In fact, there was this one article from the United Nations and World Bank that described the Indonesian crisis in 1998 as the “worst economic disaster in the history of mankind, next only to the Great Depression of 1929”.
Imagine, the Indonesian Rupiah fell from Rp 1300 to a dollar to Rp 13,000, nearly 25 million people lost their jobs in a week, several thousands were left homeless, the country’s GDP was behaving like the Bermuda Triangle when theoretically it went into negative figures, money had to be sold on streets, there was no national leader and the population below the poverty line slumped from 20% to 65% in a month’s time! Thank god an earthquake didn’t strike that very moment or it would have been “Ram naam satya hai” for the world’s largest archipelago.
But don’t get emotional yaar… things got better. In fact, that very article goes on to describe Indonesia’s recovery from 1998-2005 as “one of the fastest the world has ever seen!”
Yups, it’s true. Today, Indonesia is one of the world’s ten fastest growing countries with a GDP growth rate of 5-6% every year, it experienced the highest growth in GNI per capita income along with China from 1999-2003 and the population below the poverty line has gone down to 16%! Moreover, control has been gradually de-centralised and the entire country is now being injected with equal attention for progress. In fact, this year, for the first time since the 1960s, the number of migrant workers coming into Jakarta fell by more than 10%. Phenomenal, isn’t it!?! Let’s call it human spirit.
Of course, the country has its problems – some of them remnants of the dark days, some newly created. The populace and the authorities are battling hard against corruption, lack of education systems and unemployment and efforts to liberate and cleanse the infected judicial system from the government are continuously on. To make matters worse, of late nature hasn’t been too kind to the world’s fourth most-populated country. You all know why.
But it’s a start, nonetheless and a positive one. And which country doesn’t have its problems. We all do. Simply because we all have the will to find solutions.
The sad part is Indonesia has been thrown 8 years behind its neighbours and fierce tourism and economic rivals, Singapore and Malaysia. The government’s priorities don’t allow it to focus on building tourism. I don’t see how but that’s what the newspapers say out here. The good part is it’s not too far behind because for the first time in the last eight years, 2006 witnessed Indonesia’s GDP and tourism numbers in Bali growing more than Malaysia’s. Nothing personal with KL guys, just stating facts :)
Hmmm, so while I get on with writing another volume (I’ve made this one too long already), keep your eyes open to see how this grand oriental battle unfolds in this part of the magic continent – Asia.
Cheers
From ur favourite Indian political correspondent
Yousuf
