Gotong Royong Cabinet of President Megawati
"the success of Homo Sapiens is based primarily on our capacity for empathy and our desire to understand and appreciate other "
from an examination of the Age of Empathy : lessons from nature for a Kinder society by Frans de Waal
Indonesia is often cited by governments and businessmen who wish to gather the resources of the country as a good example of a vibrant democracy.
The term "democracy" comes from the Greek language (??????????) and means "rule by the (simple) people" or as Abraham Lincoln said, "Government people, by the people, for the people. "
most of us would agree that the form of government adopted in Indonesia is simply a procedural democracy. Those appointed must be members of political parties and have a supposed piety. No bother to listen to their constituents who are not expected, or wanted, to contribute to the government and can apparently be purchased every four or five years with unrealistic promises minimal cash documents and T-shirts to attend concerts free Dangdut .
Many, if not all, of Indonesia's leaders are a self-perpetuating elite, remnants of the Suharto era, which itself gives lucrative contracts to first pay the accumulated debts by election and then enrich their lives more process.
can expect the electorate to have legal security. the laws are flouted with impunity by apparent those in charge of making laws while for those at the bottom of the social scale, there is little research transparent means regression for the wrongs committed against them.
It seems that the only way for the voice of the rakyat to be heard is through social media, but it has had positive and negative consequences.
In 2010, the Minister of Social Affairs, Salim Segaf Aljufrie, was photographed by a commuter stuck in traffic as he sped merrily in an alley Transjakarta Busway. After a meme tweeted he was forced to apologize.
In 2011, a rumor that a ojek driver in Ambon, who was killed in a road accident, was tortured to death by police left three dead in two days of rioting.
This is an alarming and without a say in broader issues that affect us, it is amazing that we are witnessing a society increasingly fragmented, one in which individuals seek to satisfy their own needs and seem to have lost empathy with someone not in their immediate social circle or religious.
What is sorely needed is a system of empowering people, one in which individuals can express their concerns and being part of the process can affect the changes that not only meet the needs of the individual, but those the community he / she belongs. In short, there is an urgent need to return to good old-fashioned values that promote respect, courtesy and mutual cooperation.
The principle of gotong royong has long been a factor in the Indonesian life (and Malaysian). It is a Javanese word for "mutual cooperation" or "volunteering". It has long been a factor in the life of the village where people gathered to build irrigation ditches, harvest crops and build communal facilities.
When Sukarno came to power and has exhibited Pancasila (five pillars) philosophy, he argued that the five pillars could actually be pressed into three pillars (Tri SILA) consisting belief in Being Supreme, social democracy and socio-nationalism that could be compressed into only one pillar (Eka Sila), namely gotong royong,.
President Suharto adopted Pancasila as a diktat through which he incorporated the mysticism of Javanese culture, with its worship and respect for rules in a centralized government with a bureaucracy and a military presence that filtered to street level. This system remains: the Presidential Palace, the governor, mayor or regent to kelurahan (village administrative unit), to rukun warga (RW - the association of citizens), and finally to the rukun Tetangga (RT - association neighborhood) - and you.
Another result was the continued drift in search of a livelihood in urban areas where there are few leaders worthy of respect. Politicians at all levels are complacent with little consideration for their constituents, officials are arrogant and rakyat (citizens) became cynical.
But there is hope in Jakarta, and is offered by 'Jokowi' Widodo the newly elected governor of Jakarta Joko and Deputy Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama.
Ahok said that to better understand the problems and aspirations of the people, officials must go into the streets. He also announced that due to "the poor performance of local leaders" in the first 100 days of the administration of Jokowi, an official employed by the administration can now apply to become a district manager or sub-district .
"We will evaluate their performance and ask them to initiate programs for their residents to see if they are a good fit for the position or not."
I hope they be as good motivators, encouraging, as Jokowi said, the spirit of Ali Sadikin told, the Jakarta governor 1966-1977, a gotong royong lawyer.
the public need education perhaps through the compulsory service of the community, that courtesy - for example, the tail, the discipline of the road, and not messy. - can pay huge dividends in enhancing our daily lives