L

ibya’s paramount leader Muammar Qaddafi has paid the ultimate price for his long iron fist of unbearable dictatorship. His death on Thursday was truly ugly — a lesson worthy of reflection for the remaining dictators who have wantonly spilled the blood of their peoples.

I advise you not to watch the Al Jazeera’s video recording of the incident on YouTube. It is horrible. Qaddafi, who onced ruled Libya with mighty arrogance, is beaten severely, after being pulled from a drainage pipe.

The Arab Spring has now dethroned three Middle Eastern dictators — Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak and Qaddafi. Ben Ali escaped from his own people’s justice, whereas Mubarak resigned after a storm of mass demonstration.

Qaddafi, who acted like God, was killed in the same cruel manner that he used to rule his own people. Worries are certainly overshadowing Yemen, Syria, Saudi and, perhaps, Iran, where calls for freedom are mounting.

A tide of revolution is on the move. The wind of democracy will blow over the Middle East, but when it will happen nobody knows. Indonesians, after more than a decade of reform that put an end to 32 years of Soeharto’s rule, are still traveling the bumpy road toward democracy. Libyans should perhaps know what is ahead.

In the eyes of Qaddafi, Ben Ali is perhaps a coward, daring not to face the wrath of his own people. Instead, he left Tunisia and sought asylum in Saudi Arabia. He was sentenced in absentia to 35 years in prison.

That was not what Qaddafi wanted to show to the world. He was a colonel who stood with his overconfidence until the last breath. Political and moral pressure from all over the world did not deter his egoism. Qaddafi did not want to look like a coward. He stretched his muscle until his tragic end in a dirty pipe.

Compared to Qaddafi, Mubarak looks gentle. Mubarak knows the limit when his people’s hate can no longer bear his presence. Tahrir Square witnessed that people power was mightier than Mubarak’s dictatorship.

Indonesians have had two authoritarian presidents, Sukarno and Soeharto, neither of whom was comparable to Qaddafi. Qaddafi, as described by American commentator Fareed Zakaria, created a one-man cult. He destroyed the social and political system in Libya, leaving him to manipulate the country’s affairs. Everything was centered around this one man. Qaddafi wanted to be worshipped.

Notwithstanding his one-man show style, Sukarno still left room for cooperation. His bitter end did not wash away everything he had built. Indonesians mourned his death. In fact, the cult of Sukarno is still alive until today. His name, and charisma, still echoes. Some political parties can still hang his picture to attract voters.

Soeharto’s greed, with his cronies and family, ruined the system he himself had established. However, Soeharto resigned at the edge of people’s patience. Many, who owed Soeharto their life, career and wealth, protected him against any possible trial. Unlike Mubarak, Soeharto escaped court.

True, Indonesia has no particular leader comparable to Qaddafi in terms of arrogance. But we have many “Qaddafis” in terms of manipulation. Various corruption cases have engulfed both local and central governments. What is more, Indonesian politicians and bureaucrats have embezzled the state’s and public’s wealth. The country’s corruption perception index has not improved significantly despite the “jihad” against graft waged at the beginning of the reform movement more than 13 years ago.

While most people are suffering economically, few have enjoyed the stolen luxuries. When the people’s wrath reaches a climax, as what is happening in the Middle East, it will not be inconceivable for the corrupt leaders to follow in the footsteps of Qaddafi.

The writer is a lecturer at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta and is currently a visiting research fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.