Don't miss the train

Karina Soemarwoto, ,  Leiden, The Netherlands   |  Sun, 02/22/2009 11:47 AM  |  Opinion

The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East, a recent book by Kishore Mahbubani, presents a bold prediction that the world is entering a new era in which Asia will prevail.

As to why this is only happening now, the author argues that "Asians have finally understood, absorbed, and implemented Western best practices in many areas." and it states the "7 Pillars of Western Wisdom". The latter includes free market economics, science and technology, meritocracy, pragmatism, a culture of peace, the rule of law, and education (or the hunger for education).

India is moving away from class discrimination and experiencing notable brain gain. China's economic potential grew significantly in the last 30 years, with the country's devotion to free market economics. Singapore is clearly investing in higher education, attracting renowned scientists from North America and Europe. How is Indonesia to perceive the prediction that Asia will reign? How is Indonesia to see the applicability of the "7 Pillars of Western Wisdom" to its own situation?

With the right approach, Indonesia can regard the emergence of an Asian era optimistically. Despite the abuse to which it was subjected during the Dutch colonial era and the prolonged economic and political difficulties it experienced later, Indonesia still possesses the necessary resources to guide itself to a brighter future.

Indonesia's valuable resources include its population: Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world. If wisely exploited, this seemingly additional burden on the nation can be turned into a potential capacity. With the appropriate amount of attention to education by the government, the aptitude of the Indonesian people can be revealed.

Today, several factors contribute to keeping a significant part of this potential undiscovered. Obviously, any (particularly financial) constraint that hinders an Indonesian from getting the level of education they are intellectually capable of is a factor. One example is when university fees are unaffordable for most high school graduates. Other factors may include not enough educational resources being made available to students, or time corruption by teachers. In both cases, improvements in the quality of education as well as the graduates are hindered.

If every Indonesian citizen were to be given an equal opportunity to make the best of their abilities, the burden of managing such a large population would be transformed into a valuable accumulation of intelligence. Indonesia has to realize the importance of practicing meritocracy and creating a beneficial mass of brainpower out of its people's potential.

Moreover, an opportunity exists for Indonesia to improve its current situation as the country is not surrounded by, or involved in, any major conflicts that would significantly distort the ability of its population to develop. Yet there is still an obstacle to becoming a stable and powerful nation: the lack of adherence to justice and its practice thereof in terms of law. The country is therefore not at peace with itself.

The items above sum up four of the "7 Pillars of Western Wisdom", i.e. education, meritocracy, the rule of law and a culture of peace. These seem the most applicable to Indonesia's current state and the implementation and practice of which must be prioritized.

As to the pillar of free market economics (one might wonder), it may not be suitable for Indonesia, as the country has a large population the vast majority of which still has to struggle to meet their basic needs, while a small minority is exceedingly wealthy. A completely free market economy may merely expand the already significant gap between the economic classes.

With the prediction that global power will shift to Asia, it would only be wise to create an economic middle class to which a majority of the population belongs. When basic needs are met, a growing middle class will long for security, stability and prosperity. A stronger devotion to a social economy is essential to obtain such a result, as well as maintaining the solidarity of the Indonesian people whose backgrounds are broadly diverse.

Especially having seen the seriousness of the current global economic crisis, a social economic system seems more convenient and able to offer a sense of social security among the people, as has happened in, for example, the Netherlands. A hybrid ownership allows government intervention in times of economic decline, when this may be the only way to strengthen major financial institutions that are having great difficulty getting necessary capital.

As Prof. Kishore Mahbubani reveals in his book, Lawrence Summers hit upon a statistical description of Asia's ongoing improvements in living standards in a lifetime: 10,000 percent. Asian countries such as China, India, Singapore and Japan are noticeably improving in development growth and economic power. Indonesia must not lag behind.

Indonesia has experienced the dimness of the Dutch colonial era, intrusions into its sovereignty during the Cold War era and intense political conflicts itself, not to mention economic instability. Today, Indonesia is a free nation with an unprecedented achievement in democracy. Difficult times caused by natural disasters have strengthened the solidarity of its people, who share an exceptional background of unity based on dissimilarities. These form great opportunities when wisely taken advantage of.

With the upcoming elections, let us not merely rest our hopes on the candidates, but also each of us in our own way try to contribute to minimizing all obstacles that lie in the way of development, and take full advantage of all that is exploitable in the given situation. Let it be stressed it is simply in a citizen's own political interest for their nation to prevail.

The writer is a student at the International Baccalaureate School Rijnlands Lyceum, Netherlands.

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