Some say the United States is the land of the free, but how does one define freedom? The fact is that law enforcement in the United States is highly structured, so that nearly every bad action has its consequences. Criminals eventually face penalties for their misdeeds.
Yet when we compare the United States to Indonesia, Indonesian citizens are “freer”, so to speak.
In Indonesia, anyone can do almost anything to pursue their dreams of a life in luxury. Whether we acknowledge it or not, money provides for everything in Indonesia, and takes you everywhere you want to go.
That is why we see street children and people begging for money, similar to low-ranking officials in the police and military striving to make it to the top. The law enforcement that supposedly governs Indonesia are the same people that are so eagerly keen on corrupting money rightfully belonging to the very people they proclaim to protect.
With little structure and even less trust in the nation’s law enforcement agencies, Indonesia may rightfully dub itself “the land of the free”.
We shouldn’t take too much pride in being such a free country. There are significant downsides to the matter. If we go abroad, to a country like Singapore, we have to adapt to the environment and national laws of the country to avoid being considered criminals.
I have been to Singapore and the feeling is rather odd, for me, when I had to wait for the pedestrian lights to turn green before crossing the street. I also had to make sure I threw trash in the right garbage can. The list goes on. It was odd because I was not used to the idea of having such firm and disciplined regulation imposed upon the daily activities I am normally accustomed to observing.
Singapore has its own corruption issues, as is normal with any country. But the daily rules and regulations that citizens of Singapore have to follow fall into an organized place, and are balanced with all the facilities provided to Singaporeans by their government and law enforcement agencies.
Indonesia should follow the model set by Singapore. We don’t need to look as far away as the United States for examples of structured law enforcement and the meaning of being a law-abiding citizen.
Indonesia will never move forward if government and state officials complacently decide to take small steps in eradicating corruption, rather than implementing firm measures to enforce our own national laws.
Do we really want to be this such a free of a country? I surely don’t. There are more drawbacks than benefits.
Surely being a free country helps when dealing with problems that require assistance from the police and law-related bodies. However, law enforcement in Indonesia seems only beneficial to its upper class.
The more free Indonesia becomes, it seems that the spread of corruption grows, resulting in a higher number of impoverished people and the number of people further disenfranchised by the government.
Sadly, people that fall into the “excluded” categories are the ones that need the government’s attention most.
We should expect and prepare to see a developed and polished Indonesia as our freedom continues to expand. But we have to also brace ourselves for more domestic problems if our government continues making false promises about correcting the obvious and necessary problems.
Let’s hope that both freedom and structured law enforcement in Indonesia develop equally as we look to the future.
Cantika Paramitha R.
Bandung
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