Indonesia, Democracy Central

July 23, 2007

This is what The Jakarta Post said of Indonesia 10 years after Suharto. Can Malaysians say this of Bolehland when the country celebrates its 50th anniversary next month?

clipped from thejakartapost.com

This is now a country where the leaders are being made accountable for their actions and must routinely seek a mandate from the people; a country where those in leadership position are constantly being watched and scrutinized by the public.

It’s a country where differences of opinions are respected and where everyone is free to think and to express themselves without fear of persecution. Our basic human rights are also much more respected and guaranteed than they were before.

This is a new Indonesia where political power is no longer concentrated in the hands of one person, but instead is shared with other individuals and institutions. It’s an Indonesia that has been decentralized thoroughly to the lowest levels of the administration, thus giving people in the regions more say in running their own affairs.

unspun

Indonesia, Malaysia

6 responses to “Indonesia, Democracy Central”

Food for thought

July 24, 2007 at 6:07 am

Malaysia got to learn from Indonesia, and the people in power at Bolehland definitely ‘Tak Boleh’ cope with public scrutiny. As it is, they are threathening their ‘kowtow’ coalition parties to shut up over DPM’s remark.
Even the bloggers are not spared, first they got Nat, now they are after RPK and I assume many more will be follow in the next couple of weeks. Luckilly unspun is based in Indonesia.

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colson

July 24, 2007 at 7:02 am

Great. I love this upbeat message.

Indonesia rightly boasts it has made considerable progress on human rights. That beats performances like building world’s highest twin-towers, in my opinion. And is maybe even more important than short term double-figure growth rates.

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bnaipal

July 24, 2007 at 9:34 am

Many Malaysian politicians are corrupt to the hilt. They are greedy for money & will not stop at anything. Politicians in Malaysia use the race card to silence opponents. Will they ever change? NO.

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Preetam Rai

July 25, 2007 at 3:23 am

I do think that Indonesia and Indonesian media seems more free compared to Malaysia. About the Malaysian leaders going after online writers, do you guys think that same would happen in Indonesia if more Indonesians were online?

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unspun

July 26, 2007 at 2:04 pm

Preetam: I don’t think so. It’s not a question of how many writers go online and blog. It is more a question of the insecurities of Ministers in Malaysia who have not acquired the skill to debate and fend off critics. This occurs because Malaysian politicians have created an artificial world onto themselves where patronage is th name of the game, the press is anything but free and they will therefore not brook any dissent or disagreement.

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bayi

July 30, 2007 at 3:05 pm

Unspun: I am in total agreement with you on this point about the feelings of insecurity of the Malaysian mnisters. The more they get defensive, the more they invite criticism! And then they keep wondering if the bloggers actually do have a secret agenda to go after them!

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