I am not Indonesian, but have a deep love for this country having spent most of my life in Jakarta, as well as some of Indonesia’s more remote and beautiful areas, sharing countless unforgettable experiences with local friends, and studying various aspects of the archipelago. With these considerations in mind, I extend my sincerest apologies should any of the following comments appear unreasonable.
To be frank, I am struggling with several aspects of Indonesia that continue to confuse and upset me, and I raise them here and to propose solutions in hope of encouraging dialogue so that one day they may be resolved.
Indonesia, it would seem, is a country of many great ironies, not the least of which is the fact that according to most people the police and judicial system — the authorities democratic states rely on to maintain law and order — have been repeatedly voted its most corrupt institutions.
And despite what has been labeled by various experts as a continued flagrant miscarriage of justice at the highest levels of these authorities, on countless occasions we have not seen Indonesia’s political leadership emerging to root out these problems.
This is not to say efforts have not been made. The police have been tasked to investigate police corruption but, to draw an analogy, this is akin to asking hardened criminals to be honest. It simply does not make sense.
As was recommended by the team set up to investigate the recent attempt to frame leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), many members of the judiciary and the National Police named in this case need to be held accountable for the positions they hold, and any suspected violations made in these capacities.
How can the public hope to expect any positive changes to emerge while these officers remain above the same laws they are tasked to maintain?
On another note, the recent complaints over the presidential motorcade scratched what appears to be the tip of one enormous iceberg. The irony here is that while state VIPs have police escorts to cut through the chaotic mess of Jakarta traffic, the same privilege is not extended to public emergency services such as fire engines and ambulances, which are often seen stuck in gridlock, sirens blaring.
Efforts to rectify this situation have been made, for example with the development of the busway network, a planned MRT system and (perhaps one day) a monorail, but the pace of development of these projects has been painfully slow, and appears to have been overtaken by soaring numbers of motorists on roads
Jakarta, in many ways, serves as a model for other cities in Indonesia, so it would make sense to develop its transportation system to set an example for the rest of the country. If traffic jams, poor licensing regulation, lax law enforcement and failing infrastructure become the norm, God help us.
Castor
Jakarta
