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espected figures expressed concerns on Friday over what they see as escalating multidimensional crises afflicting the country, which they partly blame on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s “weak” leadership.

There had been growing mistrust between the government and the people, and growing mistrust among the people, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said.

Former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso lamented the growing individualistic society, while former coordinating minister for the economy Rizal Ramli and People’s Consultative Assembly speaker Taufik Kiemas warned of worsening intolerance.

Poverty, poor law enforcement and “overly liberal” democracy were among major issues that more than 20 opinion leaders pointed out during a discussion titled “Analyzing National Problems and their Solutions”, organized by Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second largest Muslim organization.

“There are signs that these problems are only worsening, and Indonesia is not sure how to solve them,” Din said.

Although problems may also come from the people, Din said, there is no doubt that the government is responsible for allowing the situation to persist.

“We are experiencing a crisis of leadership because our leadership is weak. From an Islamic political perspective, it is the leaders who should be held responsible for what is happening,” he said.

Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD refused the notion that the crisis was caused by inadequate laws. Indonesia’s laws and legislation are not deficient, but the problem is poor law enforcement, Mahfud said.

“Pluralism, for example, is guaranteed by the Constitution and the state ideology [Pancasila]. It is all about implementation,” Mahfud said.

“The key to solving problems is strong leadership; someone that can issue commands that unite and inspire agreement,” he added.

Mahfud also pointed out that poor law enforcement in the country was rooted in the alleged involvement of law enforcement officials in criminal activities in the past, which has made them reluctant to solve future cases for fear that their own complicity would one day come to light.

Former vice president Jusuf Kalla warned that Indonesia could experience the same political crisis suffered by Thailand if the government failed to address growing public
distrust.

Friday’s discussion was also attended by Hanura Party founder Wiranto, former National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Sutrisno Bachir, and Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Sofjan Wanandi, among others.

Although most figures in attendance were among Yudhoyono’s critics, some of them, such as House of Representatives speaker Marzuki Alie and senior politician Ahmad Mubarok, were politicians from the President’s Democratic Party.

In defense of the President, despite all problems, Indonesians still had a lot to be proud of, such as relatively stable politics and a healthy democracy, Marzuki said.

“We should be grateful for many things that many other countries can only wish. We, for example, have had a female president. Which the US, an older democracy, has yet to have, and only recently has had a black president. If we are not grateful, Allah’s punishments will continue. If we are thankful, His blessing will fall upon us,” Marzuki said.

A solution to our problems might lie in effective communication between the government and the
public, Din said as he concluded the forum.

“We hope that the government — the President and the Vice President — will want to be open to having dialogs to communicate with all elements of society. We’ve been lacking this kind of functional, effective communication,” he said.