Greater openness can make societies stronger

There’s a lot Malaysia can learn from Indonesia. We need to recognise that greater openness and accountability can in fact make societies stronger and more resilient.

By KARIM RASLAN, The Star

FOR those who are interested in understanding why Indonesia – of all places – appears so much more resilient and steady than ever before, it’s worth examining a local tragedy in Medan and the way authorities and the local communities there managed to keep the peace despite its provocative nature.

On the morning of Feb 3, the head of the provincial North Sumatra legislature, Bapak Abdul Aziz, was attacked by a crowd of angry demonstrators who had broken through a security cordon and pushed their way into the chamber.

Incensed by the Golkar politician’s refusal to deal with a high-profile and emotive issue – the recommendation for the creation of a new majority Christian/Batak province called Tapanuli to the south-west, they beat Abdul Aziz so badly that he collapsed, had a heart attack and died.

Despite the media coverage of what was admittedly an incendiary situation – a Muslim dying at the hands what was commonly thought to be a Christian crowd – Medan remained calm.

Religious leaders were swiftly mobilised to intervene and calm the city’s population of over three million which is evenly split 50-50 between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Indeed the fact that the peace was undisturbed is a credit to the republic’s growing maturity, the strength of local institutions and the forbearance of Medan’s racially diverse mix of inhabitants.

The province of North Sumatra – the source of the initial controversy has a population of over 12.8 million. With its dynamic, natural resource-based economy, North Sumatra hums with activity, the current downturn notwithstanding.

Indeed, Medan’s airport barely manages to cope with the torrent of flights in and out – there are some 25 a day to Jakarta alone, and the city’s new Marriott hotel eclipses its equivalent in the capital.

At the same time new malls replete with cafes and bars are opening at a tremendous clip.

Nonetheless, the demonstration, the intensive lobbying for a separate Batak (and therefore Christian) homeland and indeed even Abdul Aziz’s death reflects an underlying historical theme (which is also potentially divisive) in the province’s history.

For centuries, there has been a certain tension – though not always discord – between the majority-Muslim (and Malay) lowland population and the previously animistic (now mainly Protestant) highland people, the Bataks, who are centred around Lake Toba.

In the past, the inhospitality of the mosquito-infested coastal areas meant that the interior was far more heavily populated and cultivated, a trend reversed by Dutch colonialism and plantation agriculture.

By the mid-1800s as indentured labourers from China, Java and India poured into what were the Malay Sultanates of Deli, Langkat and Serdang, the clannish but progressive Batak peoples also started moving to the coastal plains – adding to the complexity of communities in towns like Pematangsiantar, Medan and Tanjungbalai. Indeed the parallels with Malaysia are striking.

Tengku Harries, a member of the Deli royal family that occupies the elegant if faded grandeur of the Istana Maimoon in the centre of the city concurs: “We’re used to living with differences.

“You could say it’s a hallmark of the Malays, the way all these different communities – Batak, Minang, Chinese and Javanese – have been accepted.”

Alfan Bey Hutasuhut, a local editor, continues: “Adat (custom) has played an important role in smoothing over potential trouble since many Muslims are themselves of Batak descent.

“While many people have accused the Batak of being unduly keras or harsh, I feel certain that the crowd didn’t intend to kill Pak Abdul Aziz. Demonstrations like this happen all the time across the republic especially when there are important issues at stake.”

Certainly, the Batak propensity for education and self-improvement has helped the community establish itself firmly at the heart of Indonesian public life with figures such as human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, TV anchor Rosi Silalahi, presidential adviser General TB Silalahi, PDIP leader Panda Nababan and Saban Siagan the trail-blazing editor and journalist.

Still, it’s widely acknowledged that the formation of a new district (kebupaten) or province is actually one of the best ways of accelerating economic growth, especially since each newly-incorporated province requires a whole host of ancillary civil servants, new institutions and buildings.

Given the potential economic windfall, it’s not surprising that prominent Batak businessmen are thought to be behind the initiative, most notably the 72-year-old newspaper proprietor GM Panggabean (he owns the daily, Suara Indonesia Baru) who is reputed to own vast land banks in the yet-to-be instituted province.

Losbert Sihotang, a Batak advertising executive from the interior concurs: “Tapanuli is very backward. The infrastructure is terrible. It can take eight to nine hours to get to my kampung.

“Creating a new province will boost the local economy. Many people see Pak GM Panggabean as a fighter for Batak rights.

“Other places like Gorontalo (in Sulawesi) and Bangka (the tin mining island off the coast of South Sumatra) have succeeded in becoming provinces. Why can’t Tapanuli?”

For Alfan, the involvement of businessmen like GM Panggabean reinforces the primacy of economic imperatives behind the push for a separate province: “It’s not just about religion. It’s also about money.”

In response to the tragedy, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called for a review of the entire process of pemekaran (delineation).

Nonetheless, it seems unlikely that Indonesia can turn back the clock on the growing confidence and determination of its regions.

The push for ever greater autonomy is inexorable as communities seek to establish more space for themselves – whether it’s in terms of administration, business or politics.

Empowering the regional elite while also forcing them to seek legitimacy through local elections has been an important means of managing aspirations and lessening potential conflict.

There’s a lot Malaysia can learn from Indonesia. We need to recognise that greater openness and accountability can in fact make societies stronger and more resilient.