The Trials of Indonesian Democracy

Extract

We are beginning to understand,” a Djakarta newspaper editor confided to me last spring, “that this business of democratic government means making allowances for one crisis after another. When we got our freedom from the Dutch we expected perfection, but what we got was a lot of muddling— still it's the best alternative.” An Indonesian University colleague with a record of distinguished leadership in a minor political party asserted: “I think from your point of view it must seem we are creating our own troubles, one on top of the other—but you must admit we try to solve them too.” And a Dutchman, an old Indonesia hand with many service years in estate enterprise repeated to me the judgment of many observers of the present Indonesian scene: “Things here are always hopeless, never serious.” Such views as these are common in the most knowledgeable quarters in the country, even among those whose frequent headshaking about current Indonesian foibles has been apt to cause resentment in Indonesia and alarm abroad.