Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia

By Beni Bevly

[This article was published by The Jakarta Post dated January 29, 2008 titled "Arguments on Soeharto."]

To response to Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s (SBY) instruction to end the arguments pertaining to Soeharto case, there are at least two different points of view and how to react.

First, in general, arguments in Indonesia often lead to conflict and political violence. This possibility is likely to happen in Soeharto case, should the current situation is being maintained. From this point of view, as responsible citizens, we must be aware and be sensitive enough for such potential.

Second, on the other side, argument is inherently expected in democratic society. That’s why, the calling from SBY to stop the argument does not mirror the spirit of democracy. As a President who was elected in a democratic system, SBY should explain the possibility of the negative impacts arising from this argument. In contrary, he should not view such argument as a debate that culturally has violated normalcy in politeness norms.

To react to this case, the proper approach is by contacting those who made and published issues. Politicians, analysts, and activists reserve their own opinions, which have caused a lot of stir pertaining to the issues being discussed in the media. The most influential media that have the strongest potential to affect the people’s opinions are TV shows and printed newspapers.

Therefore, it would be more effective for SBY to focus on the problem solving matters as directed to these two groups: the news makers and the purveyors. Of course, this approach should not be directed to cease the multitude of opinions, but instead to requisite that this issue not to be used as a way to provoke the public, which may have the potential to cause violence in the political arena.

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*Dr. Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and DBA in Organizational Leadership. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

By Beni Bevly

It’s my tendency to get to know the topic more from the seminar or discussion that I am going to attend. The night before attending the discussion in San Francisco, CA, USA with Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti (MA ’66 Public Admin and PhD ’81 Political Science UC Berkeley Alumnus) who was a Professor of Economics at the University of Indonesia, Former Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, and the 14th former Indonesian Ambassador to the United States, I conducted a brief research on current Indonesia economy. There were two findings that’s quite interesting. First, about the positive progress of Indonesia economy represented by statistics economy growth, and second, it shows the decrease of wealth, increase of poverty and unemployment rate among Indonesian people. How could it be? I thought the discussion with Dr. Kuntjoro-Jakri would help me to understand this issue better.

In that seminar, he presented the statistic data regarding IV quarter of 2007 Indonesia economy improvement and a new tendency that was happening in Indonesia economy which involved private equity that had been buying undervalue, under-manged and high risk companies, including public companies. He called it P2P (Private Equity to Public) business. All the data he presented was so impressive and very promising. In term of economic growth, he mentioned from 1998 with -13.8% of GDP, has been improving persistently up to 6.3% in 2007 and would be 6.5-7% in 2008. In term of investment, it raised to 145% from 2006. He also mentioned that inflation was under control, which was around 6% in 2007-2009. And there were many other information and statistics to support the argument that Indonesia economy was already in the right track.

Unfortunately, I did not get the answer for my contradictory findings, which were the positive progress of Indonesia economy represented by statistics economy growth on one side, and showed the decrease of wealth, increase of poverty and unemployment rate among Indonesian people on the other side. In fact, my expectation on this seminar was not too high considering that Dr. Kuntjoro-Jakti had different reputation compared to his seniors at the University of California Berkeley who were known as Berkeley Mafia. He was considered as an populist scholar and a supporter of the rights and power of the people. Below is the statement I quoted from Kompas:

“Akan tetapi, sebetulnya posisi yang diambil Dorodjatun itu tidaklah aneh, bahkan mungkin dia memang tidak pas untuk dimasukkan ke dalam kelompok “epistemis liberal”. Meskipun dia dikenal sebagai generasi terakhir Mafia Berkeley, dia sebetulnya sudah menyimpang dari jalur liberalisme ekonomi yang dianut kelompok teknokrat tersebut.

Dalam sebuah diskusi Senat Mahasiswa di FISIP UI, dia secara bercanda mengatakan bahwa Pemerintah Indonesia waktu itu berhenti mengirimkan ekonom mudanya ke Berkeley setelah melihat hasil dari generasi terakhirnya (maksudnya dirinya sendiri) menjadi melenceng. Maka, kalau dulu Hadi Soesastro mengajar pengantar ekonomi di FISIP UI memakai textbook Samuelson, Dorodjatun lebih menyukai textbook Todaro.”

He even did not refer to Samuelson’s Economic text book when he taught at the college, instead he used Todaro’s.

As we know, Paul Anthony Samuelson (born May 15, 1915) is an American neoclassical economist who wrote Economics. Samuelson’s text was first published in 1948, and it immediately became the authority for the principles of economics courses. The book continues to be the standard-bearer for principles courses, and this revision continues to be a clear, accurate, and interesting introduction to modern economics principles. Bill Nordhaus is now the primary author of this text, and he has revised the book to be as current and relevant as ever.

Whereas, Michael P. Todaro is an American economist and is a pioneer in the field of transportation economics. His Economic Development in the Third World is a book to aim at undergraduates and focuses on development problems such as poverty, inequality and unemployment. In order to help students grasp important economic concepts, emphasis is placed on explaining them in the context of the actual problems confronting Third World policy makers.

However, there is always the other side of a coin. An article which discusses his economy policy on Pikiran Rakyat news paper mentions:

“Sementara itu ketua Tim Pemantau Kebijakan Publik P3R Ahmad Iskandar menambahkan, semua kebijakan ekonomi yang dikeluarkan tim Menko Ekuin Kabinet Gotong Royong (Dorodjatun Kuncoro Jakti cs) cenderung hanya meniru konsepsi kebijakan yang dibuat oleh arsitek ekonomi Orde Baru yang lebih mementingkan kepentingan pihak asing ketimbang kepentingan rakyat. ”Kami menyayangkan kinerja Pak Dorodjatun yang memperlihatkan dirinya tidak lebih hanya kelanjutan dari ”mafia berkeley” generasi kedua,” ungkap Iskandar.

Ia menambahkan, krisis ekonomi nasional yang sudah berlangsung hampir 5 tahun tidak bisa dilepaskan dari kesalahan konsepsi, policy, dan strategi pembangunan yang dibuat arsitek ekonomi Orde Baru yang beken disebut Mafia Berkeley (Widjojo Nitisastro, Ali Wardhana, Emil Salim, M. Sadli, dan Subroto).”

Basically, this article discusses that Dr. Kuntjoro-Jakti’s performance as Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs was the continuation from Berkeley Mafia who prioritized foreigners’ vested interest and set aside people’s interest.

Despite of the above arguments, from February 2005 to March 2006, the poverty rate increased from 16.0 to 17.8 percent. There are 39 million people, 4 million more than in 2005, who were getting poorer. There are two main elements that caused the increasing of poverty rate. First, the increase of fuel price. Once, it increased 126% in 2005, and the majority of the people still feel the impact until today. Second the increase of rice price. Between February 2005 and March 2006 the rice price increased double. While the people wages barely increased. The number of poor Indonesians would have soared even more, to 51 million people according to the statistics office.

According to the CIA-The World Fact Book, the unemployment rate had been increasing steadily since 2004 that stared with 8.70 %, becoming 9.20% in 2005, 11.80% in 2006, and it was estimated 12.50% in 2007. There are two main elements that cause the unemployment keeps increasing in Indonesia. First, the economic development does not reach the rural areas. From time to time, these areas are far left behind. Many of them are getting poorer. People who live in these areas no longer can rely on what they have been doing to support their life. As a result, a lot of them seek for jobs in urban areas such as Jakarta, Surabaya and other big cities. Many of them become jobless and they even create more problems in big cities, such as increasing crime rate.

Second, there is lack of trained human resources. According to a recent international survey on quality of human resources, Indonesia ranked 59th among 60 developing countries surveyed, just below Vietnam. From 106 million-strong work force, 18% have never attended school, 36% are elementary school graduates and dropouts, 20% are junior high school graduates, 21% are senior high school graduates and less than 6 percent are academy and university graduates (Jakarta Post, retrieved on November 12, 2007). The industries have offered numerous job opportunities but they cannot be filled because of the absence people or lack of competence.

What these tell us? Even though Indonesian GDP growth has persistently improved since 1999, however, first, the economy development does not support agricultural development and its infrastructure, especially in cultivating rice or paddy properly. Second, the development only concentrates mostly in big cities. Third, there is no real effort and political will to establish effective and efficient power/energy plant and refinery and/or look for fossil fuel substitution. Fourth, the education system/program does not match to the requirement of the labor market. Because of these four elements, poverty and unemployment remain increase, regardless how much the statistics show that Indonesia economy improves.

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

By Beni Bevly

Why does Burma need to be freed? Below is the simple explanation from Burma-Myanmar Genocide 2007 site:

What is GENOCIDE? [pronunced: jen-uh-sahyd] dictionary.com defines “The deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group”.

Genocide in Burma (Myanmar) A genocide has currently been going on in Burma for over 40 years under military government. People get arrested, tortured, lost jobs, lost licenses, abused, killed, and unfairly treated for believing in democracy. Justice is a dream in Burma.

What are “International War Crime Tribunals”? International war crimes tribunals are courts of law established to try individuals accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Who should be put on trial at International War Crime Tribunals? Criminals who committed crimes that include use of outlawed weapons; intentionally bombing schools, hospitals, mosques and churches; killing after a cease-fire; and starvation of citizens.

So now we know the reason why Burma needs to be freed: “A genocide has currently been going on in Burma for over 40 years under military government.”

What can I do? www2.free-burma.org is suggesting:

1. Join the list of participants here
2. Take part in this action more
3. Spread the word here
4. Spread the graphics here

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

By Beni Bevly

Kegiatan “1965 Road Show in the United States” yang berakhir pada tanggal 25 September 2007 hampir berdekatan dengan jatuhnya ulang tahun Gerakan 30 September/Partai Komunis Indonesia (G30S/PKI atau GESTAPU), yaitu pada tanggal 30 September 1965.

Dalam kaitan dengan ulang tahun G30S/PKI ini ada baiknya kita mendengarkan sisi lain dari sejarah yang ditampilkan oleh pemerintahan Soeharto/Suharto pada masa Orde Baru. Salah satu sisi lain adalah interview dengan A. Suryo Wicaksono. Berikut adalah hasil cuplikan interview dan sebagian kegiatan road show yang diprakarsai oleh majalah Indonesia Media, ICAA dan Duarte Inn di Los Angeles Area, Amerika Serikat, para sahabat dan organisasi lainnya.

Click To Play

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

Dari kegiatan “1965 Incident Road Show in the United States” yang berlangsung mulai dari tanggal 4 sampai 25 September 2007 dan dihadiri secara keseluruhan oleh lebih dari 500 peserta bisa ditarik benang merah bahwah sebagian pesertanya menghendaki dan menuntut kejujuran dari pihak yang terlibat dalam Peristiwa Gerakan 30 September 1965. Peristiwa tersebut diperkirakan memakan sampai jutaan jiwa rakyat Indonesia.

Perjalanan kegiatan “1965 Incident Road Show in the United States” mencapai ke seluruh kota yang ditargetkan, bahkan ada beberapa pertemuan yang di luar schedule. Road show yang menghadirkan A. Suryo Wicaksono (Suryo) dari Kepala Riset Lapangan dan Pengembangan Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa (SNB) dan Ketua Kasut Perdamaian (KP) ini berpresentasi di sepuluh (10) kota Amerika Serikat. Di setiap kota, Suryo, begitu panggilan akrabnya, didampingi oleh setiap Person In Charge (PIC) untuk mengungkapkan fakta sejarah dengan cara pemutaran film ppeoses penggalian kuburan masal yang ditemukan oleh SNB/KP dalam kerja sama dengan organisasi lainnya di Indonesia. Menurut penuturan Suryo, telah ditemukan lebih dari 50 titik kuburan masal, dan dua di antaranya telah digali.

Hampir di setiap acara “1965 Incident Road Show” ini dimulai dengan pemutaran film dan dilanjutkan dengan interaksi tanya jawab dan sharing. Dalam interaksi, tersebut tidak jarang peserta terkejut dan tidak percaya bahwa dalam periode 1965-1973 telah terjadi pembunuhan masal yang diperkirakan mencapai 3 juta jiwa. Juga ada peserta yang berkata bahwa selama ini mereka telah mendapat informasi yang salah dan merasa dibohongi oleh penguasa. Mereka juga menuntut agar pelajaran sejarah di sekolah-sekolah disampaikan sesuai dengan penemuan yang ditampilkan dalam road show ini.

Berikut adalah cuplikan singkat dari kegiatan road show di 10 kota di Amerika Serikat:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Kegiatan road show di Philadelphia yang dipimpin oleh Ignatius Suparno, CM dihadiri sekitar 50 orang pada tanggal 7 September 2007. Acara dibuka dengan perkenalan peserta, nonton film “Kapan Tuntas 98” dan “Kuburan Masal ‘65 di Wonosobo dan Blitar”.

Selain mengungkapkan kebenaran sejarah berkisar sekitar tahun 1965, peserta juga berdialog dan men-share kisah-kisah besar seputar peristiwa ‘65 dan ‘98. Lebih dari itu, Romo Parno, panggilan akrab untuk Ignatius Suparno, CM dan Suryo juga menghubungkan materi presentasi dengan kehidupan real masyarakat Philadelphia.

Acara dialog ini ternyata berlanjut pada pada malam berikutnya dengan topic imigrasi. Acara dengan peserta yang berjumlah seratus lima puluhan lebih anggota KKI (Komunitas Katolik Indonesia) Philadelphia juga menghadirkan pembicaranya Sr. Jane Burke dari Washington dan Fr. Tom BEtz dari Philadelphia.

Atlanta, Georgia

Dengan dipimpin oleh PIC Pancha Anugerah, Daniel Fu, dan Wei Siong Tan, PhD kegiatan road show di Atlanta dimulai pada jam 6:00 PM, tanggal 9 September 2007. Acara yang dihadiri oleh lebih dari 100 orang ini menampilkan film “Shadow Play”.

Pesan utama yang disampaikan oleh Suryo dan Pancha adalah memanusiakan para korban yang tertimbun sia-sia karena ketidak-adilan dan kekejaman politik dan mengungkapkan kebenaran fakta sejarah.

Stanford, California

Dari pertemuan dan diskusi yang mendalam antar Suryo dan Donald K. Emerson, Director of Southeast Asia Forum di Sanford University, Stanford, CA, dan didampingi oleh Jennie S. Bev dan Beni Bevly pada tanggal 14 September 2007 disimpulkan bahwa perdebatan politik tingkat tinggi atau konspirasi kejadian pada Gerakan 30 September 1965 bukanlah strategy yang efektif dalam mengungkapkan tragedy kemanusiaan 1965.

Donald Emerson yang lebih suka dipanggil Don dan sangat fasih berbahasa Indonesia ini setuju dengan pengungkapan kebenaran dan fakta dari grass root level, yaitu bekerja sama dan membantu kehidupan para korban atau keluarga korban.

Sacramento, California

Road show di Sacramento, ibu kota California dengan PIC Mutiara Andalas, SJ ternyata membangkitkan emosi dan kesedihan para peserta ketika dan setelah menonton film penggalian kuburan masal Wonosobo, Jawa Tengah. Dalam kegiatan yang jatuh pada tanggal 15 September 2007 ini, salah seorang di antara 40 peserta berulang kali menghapus air mata yang melinang dari pelupuknya. Peserta lain tidak ketinggalan pula memberikan kesaksian atas kejadian Mei tahun 1998 dengan berapi-api, dicampur perasaan sedih dan geram.

Kegiatan di kota ini berlanjut dengan kelompok yang lebih kecil sampai pukul 2:30 pagi di salah satu restoran di Sacramento.

Union City, California

Keadaan emosional di kegiatan Union City, CA, sekitar 40 menit mengendarai dari San Francisco pada tanggal 16 September 2007 ternyata dinilai melebihi di Sacramento. Seusai pertunjukan film kuburan masal Wonosobo, Romo Andy, pangilan untuk Mutiara Andalas berbicara mengenai bagaimana ia menemani salah satu korban Mei 1998, sampai suatu titik, Romo Andy berhenti berbicara dan terisak, diiringi linangan air mata. Dalam seketika, semua peserta menjadi hening dan banyak dari mereka yang ikut meneteskan air mata. Sungguh memilukan.

Salah seorang di antara kurang lebih 100 peserta yang hadir, datang dari San Leandro, CA menyatakan betapa ia dibohongi oleh penguasa mengenai peristiwa 1965, dan ia menuntut kebenaran dan menuntut agar kurikulum mata pelajaran sejarah di sekolah-sekolah di Indonesia diganti.

Kegiatan di Union City yang dimulai dari jam 5:15 sore ini berlanjut dengan kelompok yang lebih kecil hingga jam 10:30 malam.

Riverside, California

Presentasi yang mengambil tempat di depan para mahasiswa California Baptist University di Riverside, CA pada tanggal 19 September 2007 dimotori oleh PIC Dr. Irawan dari Media Indonesia. Kegiatan yang menghadirkan Suryo, Virgo Handojo, PhD sebagai pembicara dan sidampingin moderator Beni Bevly berlangsung sekitar dua jam.

Ternyata sebelumnya sebagian besar mahasiswa dari total sekitar lebih dari 60 peserta mengangap bahwa versi sejarah Suharto mengenai Gerakan 30 September adalah yang benar. Setelah melihat tayangan film kuburan masal di Blitar Selatan, dan berdiskusi dengan ketiga presenter ini, mereka baru menyadari bahwa telah terjadi tragedi kemanusiaan yang luar biasa di Indonesia pada saat itu. Mereka hampir tidak mempercayai apa yang mereka lihat dan dengar.

Los Angeles, California

Dr. Irawan juga memotori kegitan Road Show di Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, CA pada tanggal 20 September 2007. Presentasi yang dibuka oleh Mark Cammack, Professor of Law dan pemutaran film penggalian kuburan masal di Wonosobo mengambil tempat di sebuah auditorium yang canggih dan menampilkan dua layar cukup lebar ini dihadiri oleh sekitar 50 peserta.

Topik diskusi berkisar antara siapa pelaku yang sebenarnya, bagaimana membawa mereka kepengadilan dan apa saja kendala yang dihadapi oleh Suryo dalam upaya penggalian kuburan masal.

Pacific Palisades, California

Diskusi dengan dua professor dari University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Robert Lemelson, PhD (Department of Psychology & Anthropology) dan Juliana Wijaya, PhD (South and Southeast Asian Languages & Cultures) mengambil tempat di kota Pacific Palisades pada tanggal 21 September 2007. Selain itu juga hadir tokoh komunitas Indonesia, seperti Densi, Grec MC dan Romo Anthony. Diskusi dan diselangi dengan makan siang yang disajikan oleh Prof. Lemelson ini memakan waktu hampir tiga jam.

Diskusi ini membahas impact psychology dari para korban dan keluarga korban hingga pada saat ini. Ternyata hasil penelitian Prof. Lemelson menunjukkan bahwa peristiwa 1965 membawa luka berkepanjangan dan cacat mendalam bagi jiwa korban. Selain itu, ia bukan hanya mengidentifikasi masalah, tetapi juga mencari dan membantu jalan pemecahan.

Duarte, California

Road Show di Duarte, CA dengan PIC Dr. Irawan dan didukung oleh Media Indonesia, Indonesian Chinese American Association (ICAA) dan Duate Inn mengambil tempat di conference room Duate Inn dan dihadiri oleh kurang lebih 50 peserta pada tanggal 22 September 2007. Kegiatan yang direncanakan dimulai pada jam 7:00 malam ini berakhir melebihi jam 10:00 malam, dan dilanjuti dengan diskusi kelompok kecil hingga jam 1:00 pagi di sebuah restoran Thailand.

Setelah menonton film “Shadow Play” dan kuburan masal Leweng Tikus, Blitar Selatan, sebagian peserta menanyakan apa tindak lanjut dari road show ini dan bagaimana caranya supaya mereka bisa ikut membantu. Suryo menyatakan bahwa road show ini bertujuan untuk menghadirkan kebenaran sejarah dan membantu rekonsiliasi di tingkat grass root. Selebihnya, jika ada yang ingin membantu secara materil dan menyumbangkan tenaga, Suryo me-refer-kannya pada website www.snb.or.id.

Arcadia, California

Di kota Arcadia, CA, pada tanggal 23 September 2007, Suryo berbicara di depan dua komunitas Indonesia, yang pertama adalah di Agape Evangelical Church (AEC) yang dipimpin oleh Dr. Bob Jokiman dan yang kedua mengambil tempat di JKI Anugerah yang dipimpin oleh Virgo Handojo, PhD. Di masing-masing tempat yang total pesertanya mencapai kurang lebih 80 orang diputar film penggalian kuburan masal di Leweng Tikus, Blitar Selatan.

Para peserta dalam presentasi ini menunjukkan sikap yang prihatin dan ikut merasakan penderitaan apa yang dialami para korban dan keluarga korban peristiwa tahun 1965. Dalam kesempatan itu juga, baik Dr. Jokiman maupum Dr. Handojo menyatakan bahwa gereja harus ikut aktif memperjuangkan hak asasi manusia di Indonesia.

Pencapaian

Berkat kerja sama dengan para sahabat dan organisasi baik di Amerika Serikat maupun di Indonesia, berikut adalah pencapaian dari kegiatn 1965 Incident Road Show in the United States:

Pertama, diperkirakan telah meraih awareness cukup banyak di kalangan individu (lebih dari 500 peserta yang hadir) dan organisasi di Amerika Serikat (lebih dari 15 organisasi yang bekerja sama). Kedua, adanya indikasi bahwa para individu dan organisasi di Amerika Serikat terpacu untuk mengadakan kegiatan Hak Asasi Manusia secara lebih aktif. Ketiga, terbentuknya jaringan informal di antara individu dan organisasi yang mempunyai tujuan yang sama, yaitu mereka yang ingin membela Hak Asasi Manusia. Keempat, adanya kemungkinan terjalinnya kerja sama antar SNB/KP dan beberapa lembaga di Amerika Serikat. Kelima, terkumpulnya sumbangan untuk SNB/KP, berupa uang dan peralatan kerja.

Penutup

Dengan berakhirnya 1965 Incident Road Show in The United States dan pulangnys Suryo ke Indonesia pada tanggal 26 September 2007, bukan berarti berakhirnya kegiatan hak asasi nanusia (HAM) di kalangan komunitas Indonesia di Amerika. Tetapi agaknya, kegiatan ini menjadi momentum untuk menghidupkan, memulai dan mematangkan kegiatan HAM lain yang selama ini belum menemukan jalan pemecahannya di Indonesia. Bahkan sebagian besar organisasi dan peserta sepakat untuk merencanakan, mendukung dan melakukan kegiatan peringatan 10 tahun peristiwa Mei ’98 pada tahun 2008.

Dengan mengutip Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Dr. Jokiman dalam mendampingi Suryo di Arcadia, CA berkata,

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is
for good men to do nothing”.

Karena itu, dengan menuntut dan mengetahui kebenaran, kita akan “do something.”

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* Sebagaian tulisan ini disarikan dari laporan masing-masing PIC 1965 Road Show in the United States di setiap kota oleh Beni Bevly. Foto-foto di atas adalah koleksi dari para sahabat di Philadelphia, Atlanta, Sacramento, dan Union City. Pengambilan foto di beberapa kota lainnya dibantuan Arnold Lukito.

September 28, 2007
San Francisco, CA

Beni Bevly
(Moderator)

One of the films was presented in 1965 Incident Road Show in the United States was Mass Grave in Wonosobo, Java Island, Indonesia. So far,there are 58 mass graves identified and two of them were evacuated.

Here is the other evident of what actually had happened in the event of G30S/PKI (September 30th Movement/Indonesian Communist Party) in 1965 in Indonesia.

By Beni Bevly

This tragedy is not belonging to Indonesian only but also the world. It’s the same happening in Germany towards Jews, in Cambodia or other part of the world. It is really human tragedy which the point is denying human dignity. The massacre, mass graves and innocent victims are like “spiritual pain” for Indonesia that needs to be healed. Indonesia couldn’t take a step forward freely without healing those pains. It’s not easy I know, but I’m sure that where a will is then there’s a way.
–Albertus Suryo Wicaksono–

When I began coordinating and promoting “1965 Incident Road Show in the United States with A. Suryo Wicaksono”, many people asked me, “Who is A. Suryo Wicaksono? I’ve never heard of him?” Frankly, since I left Indonesia about 10 years ago, I am not so updated with current and young Indonesian activists. I would have never known him if Ester Jusuf did not send me several films that were recorded by her organizations, Salidaritas Nusa Bangsa (SNB) or Homeland Solidarity and Kasut Perdamaian (KP) or Shoe for Peace. One of the films was about 1965 mass grave that really touched me. Then it triggered me to find out further information regarding this film. From there I knew who Albertus Suryo Wicaksono or Suryo.

Of course, conversation with him is not sufficient for me to inform those fellows who Suryo really is. Then I request written information, such as resume from him. Guess what I got? A resume that contends a writing only less than a half of letter size page. That resume tells us the following information.

He was born Jakarta, April 12th 1967. From 1989 to 1995 he went to Ledalero School of Philosophy in East Nusa Tenggara, took Humans Subject, then continued from 1995 to 2001 at Driyarkara School of Philosophy, Jakarta in Social Subject. From 2002 to present, he is the Chairperson of Kasut Perdamaian Foundation and Research Coordinator of Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa and since 1992 up to now he does social work for churches in remote villages in Indonesia.

In 2004, he participated Annual Conference of High Commission on Human Rights, United Nations, Geneva – Switzerland and spoke in serial International discussions in German, Netherlands and Belgium. Prior to that, in 2003 he was one of the Participants of Gwangju Annual International Meeting in South Korea.

I thought that information was not enough. So to collect more information about him, I found some his interviews. Beside from these interviews, I also compiled more information from my conversation with him, with others and from reading his profile. From all the information I have, I could conclude that he is a humble, down to earth (just like one of his email address, “napak tanah”) and low profile. I have to dig, to get the information from him. If I were him, I might have written much longer resume. The last statement is a compliment for him.

Currently, he is a research coordinator, and works in a team under Kasut Perdamaian (KP) Foundation. KP is a partner of SNB. As KP doing research, investigation and any jobs direct to grass roots or victims’ community, SNB then supports it by contributing legal advice and giving considerations as well as doing campaign of whatever KP did. SNB is acting like a lawyer for KP. Both SNB and KP work hand in hand for 65’ cases. However, sometime for special reasons, he does investigation by himself and this is just for strictly confidential matters.

Suryo’s preliminary findings about 1965 incident shows that there is no exact amount of people killed, but according to the testimony of Gen. Sarwo Edhi, the commander of the special force (RPKAD) who organized the killings, he said a moment before he died, “I killed 3 M people”.

Also, Suryo can tell you that, based on his field investigation; people even kill each other for nothing related to September 30 affairs. It’s true that in those periods, “PKI” was the best issue for someone to kill others, even their neighbors. The atmosphere at that time was bad, street justice happens anytime and anywhere. And Indonesian military, as an institutional state, just let it happened. They just let the killing happened without fair trial. Even worst, they also provoked and trained people how to kill each other without mercy.

According to Suryo these numbers are not so important. 500.000, 1 millions, 2 millions or 3 millions, that’s not the point to him. Everyone could say their own number, but later on, he can tell you the truth, based on his field investigation, indeed there was a massacre in Indonesia. He himself already found more than 50 hidden mass graves.

In discovering 1965 mass graves, he meets some objections that come from regional bureaucrats, civilians, radical Muslim groups and the military officers. There are some accusations even threat. If you watched one of the films he recorded, you can see one person took out a blade and threatened to kill one of the activists.

By discovering these mass graves, he believes he can present the truth about the massacre and the truth about Indonesian history that had been covered up for 32 years by Suharto and his regime. He can also utilize his finding to demand justice for the victims and their families, advocate and promote human right in Indonesia.

Until these days, there are a lot of limitations towards people who “indicated” has a connections both directly and indirectly to PKI or Indonesia’s Communist Party. They’re strongly stigmatized by the state through several discriminative regulations. For example – a person who wants to become a public officer must be clean – he or she must have no connection and background to PKI. This regulation is not only valid for the victims but also to their children and grandchildren. So you can imagine the effects.

When Suharto stepped back, it does not mean this discrimination stop. Several regulations still exist. For example, the decree of the minister of home affairs no. 31/1981. A Prohibition of becoming a state employee, a member of military or police, a teacher, minister and other officers was applied to all those directly or indirectly involved in 1965 September movement to all former communist and those with no clean background. And the other is from minister of home affairs decree 24 from 1991. The right of a life long identity card for all Indonesian citizens over 60 years did not apply to them.

Even though some legal regulations were canceled, but in daily life they are still treated differently, meaning in negative way. In several villages, Suryo found that people are accused as so called PKI as “troublemakers”, traitor, no-religion, and sadist and so on. There is traditional belief in some Indonesians that talk about massacre and mass grave are taboo.

Objectively, in 1965 civilians had no capability to kidnapped, tortured and even killed high level army officers. That was military style, not civilians. Suryo thinks the military didn’t want Indonesian people know the fact that the killing of high level officers was also done by the military. There is no proof that the killing was organized by PKI (civilians) and no evidence that civilians kidnapped and kill the seven generals.

So far Suryo’s human right activity has created grassroots reconciliation. This reconciliation initiative comes from family of perpetrators or executioners. It appears to be cultural movement, it’s closed to traditional values, such as visiting each other (silaturahmi). They might come from different starting point, however they go to the same way, which is eliminating horizontal conflict.

My final words. Do not believe what I just wrote. Come and see the 1965 Incident Road Show, then you can decide whether it is true or not. Remember, seeing is believing.

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

Image Source: IndoProgress.blogspot.com

1965 INCIDENT ROAD SHOW IN THE UNITED STATES with A. SURYO WICAKSONO, Field Research Coordinator of Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa (Homeland Solidarity) and Chairman of Kasut Perdamaian (Shoe for Peace) will take places at:

Philadelphia area:
Friday, September 7, 2007, 6:00 PM, at St Thomas Aquinas, 1719 Morris St, Philadelphia, PA 19145, contact person:
Ignatius Suparno, parnocm@yahoo.com, 215 -519-8154

Atlanta area:
Sunday, September 9, 2007, 6:00 PM, at KKI – OLA, 1350 Hearst Dr,
Atlanta, GA 30319, contact person:
Pancha Anugerah, brookdale925@yahoo.com, 678-851-4650

San Francisco Bay Area:
Saturday, September 15, 2007, in Sacramento, CA
Sunday, September 16, 2007, 5:15 PM, at Multipurpose Room,
Holy Family Church, 3880 Smith St. Union City, CA 94587, contact person:
Mutiara Andalas, mutiaraandalas@yahoo.com, 510 665 4067

Los Angeles area:
Thursday, September 20, 2007, 12:30 PM, at Southwestern Los Angeles Law School, 3050 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
Saturday, September 22, 2007, 7:00 PM at Duarte Inn, 1200 Huntington Dr., Duarte, CA 91010, contact person:
Indonesia Media, DrIrawan@aol.com, 626 335 9833

For more information, contact Beni Bevly benibevly@yahoo.com, 650 255 0383

1965 INCIDENT ROAD SHOW IN THE UNITED STATES WITH A. SURYO WICAKSONO, Field Research Coordinator of Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa (Homeland Solidarity) and Chairman of Kasut Perdamaian (Shoe for Peace)

In 1965-1966, General Soeharto orchestrated a crime against humanity in Indonesia. Targeted assassinations were followed by mass arrests and executions using army-backed civilian militia, which developed into the slaughter of between 500,000 and 1 million people. As a “reward” for this atrocity, Soeharto was able to enjoy 32 years of power and is still enjoying freedom and wealth to this day.

After more than 35 years, several groups of people started to search and found many facts regarding this slaughter that was hidden by Soeharto and his cronies. Confessions from witnesses and executors led to field researches revealing more than 50 mass graves scattered around in Indonesia. Some mass graves had been evacuated and recorded on video.

Now is the time to show the world about the truth of Indonesia history.

What had happened during 1965 to 1973 in Indonesia? Why thousands or even millions of people had to be arrested, tortured, and slaughtered without a fair trial? Were some of the victims our own families and friends? How many people’s properties such as houses, schools and land were robbed, and where? Who must be responsible? Where should we stand?

Come and join our video presentation, question and answer in:

Philadelphia
4 September 2007 – 8 September 2007, person in charge: Ignasius Suparno, parnocm@yahoo.com, 215 519 8154.

Atlanta
9 September 2007 – 11 September 2007, person in charge: Pancha Anugerah, brookdale925@yahoo.com, 678-851-4650

San Francisco
12 September 2007 – 17 September 2007, person in charge: Mutiara Andalas, mutiaraandalas@yahoo.com, 510 665 4067

Los Angeles, 18 September 2007 – 22 September 2007, person in charge: Indonesia Media, drirawan@aol.com, 626 335 9833

This road show is supported by:

US based organizations:
FICA (Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America)
Indonesia Media
ICAA Los Angeles (Indonesian Chinese American Association)
ICHF (Indonesian Community Heritage Foundation)
ICC (Indonesian Community Church)
KKI Philadelphia (Komunitas Katolik Indonesia, Philadelphia)
KKI Atlanta (Komunitas Katolik Indonesia, Atalnta)
OTTI (Overseas Think Thank for Indonesia)
ICANet (Indonesian-Chinese-American Network)

Indonesia based grassroot organizations:
SNB (Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa)
KP (Yayasan Kasut Perdamaian)
FNKT ‘65 (Forum Nasional Keluarga Korban Tragedi 1965)
IS3I (Ikatan Sarjana Sadar Sejarah Indonesia)
ForDePS (Forum Desa Peduli Sejarah)
KALI (Komunitas Arsitek Landscape Indonesia)
JarDeSK ’65 (Jaringan Desa Saksi dan Korban 1965)
PKKP 45-65 (Pejuang Kemerdekaan 1945 Korban Peristiwa 1965)
AlDeTaK (Aliansi Desa Tolak Kekerasan)o SolWaKOB (Solidaritas Warga Korban Orde Baru)
ASLI (Aliansi Saudara/i Lintas Iman)
PPDI (Paguyuban Pamong Desa Indonesia)
APHI (Asosiasi Penasehat Hukum dan HAM Indonesia / Indonesian Lawyers and Human Rights Defenders Association)

For more information, contact Beni Bevly at benibevly@yahoo.com and 1 650 255 0383 (US) or
Albertus Suryo Wicaksono at napaktanah@yahoo.com or +62 813 1902 5016 (Indonesia)

BY Beni Bevly
On July 16, 2007 there was a labor strike against PT Nike Indonesia that involved thousands of employees from PT Naga Sakti Paramashoes (NASA) dan PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Indonesia (HASI). This strike took place in front of Bursa Efek building in Jakarta, where PT Nike Indonesia that lead by John Richard leases its office (Nike Dituntut Bayar Pesangon, Tempo Interaktif, Juli 17, 2007). The employees of NASA and HASI demanded PT Nike Indonesia to provide them with severance pay or termination pay due to the termination of shoes order contract as of March 2008. This demand was also supported by Indonesia Manpower and Transmigration Minister, Erman Suparno. The questions are: is it correct decision for Suparno as a minister of Indonesia who carries Indonesia name to support this demand? What is the impact to Indonesia reputation in global economy?

Let us analyze this issue carefully. First, the contract is between Nike Indonesia and Hartati Murdaya, the owner of the NASA and HASI. The contract, of course, includes the production of shoes that has to meet certain standards, such as policy and procedure, price, quality, quantity and delivery time which must be fulfilled by both parties. In this case, Nike Indonesia does not deal with Murdaya’s employees.

Second, Murdaya, through her two companies had breached the contract. According to the Director of Nike Indonesia, Erin Dobson, the termination was caused by those two companies failed to maintain the minimum quality standard of the products and the delivery date. Dobson mentioned these issues had been addressed before. “It has been two years, the delivery of the products are rarely on time,” he said. Even Indonesia Industry Minister, Fahmi Idris admitted between Nike Indonesia and those companies had been dealing with these issues.

Understanding the above issues, it makes sense for Nike Indonesia to terminate the contract. Form Murdaya’s side, instead of showing the improvement in quality and service to Nike Indonesia, she mentioned to the media, “Nike has been arrogant.” She also mentioned that her companies had been humiliated and employees knew about it.” According to her, Nike should terminate the contract 18 months before with HASI dan 30 months before with NASA. She denied that she mobilized her employees to strike against Nike Indonesia.

Beside Murdaya, Indonesia Manpower and Transmigration Minister, Erman Suparno said, “PT Nike Indonesia must take the responsibility in rescuing 14,000 employees from NASA dan HASI who are threatened from getting laid off.”

On the other side, Indonesia Industry Minister, Fahmi Idris mentioned that the lay off case is the responsibility of Murdaya’s because so far Nike does not have relationship with her employees.

Recalling the above questions, is it the correct decision for Suparno as a minister of Indonesia who carries Indonesia name to support Murdaya dan her employees demands? What is the impact to Indonesia reputation in global economy?

By looking at the contract, it is obviously wrong to support Murdaya’s and the emplyees’ demand. In this case, Murdaya should have fulfilled all the requirement in the contract. The employees themselves should have demanded the severance pay or termination pay from Murdaya, not from Nike, simply because Nike is not their employer and their actual employer is Murdaya who had allegedly breached the contract.

From global economy perspective, the labor strike, Murdaya’s action and Indonesia Manpower and Transmigration Minister, Erman Suparno’s reaction have created bad image on Indonesia economy. How come, the employer is the one who breached the contract, and it is obvious that Nike is not the employer of 14,000 employees, yet both employer and employees demand severance pay from Nike?

Nowadays global economy, most country, such as China, India and Vietnam fight to get their businesses or contracts. The governments compete to provide better infrastructures, facilities, procedure/policy and more educated employees who know their responsibilities, obligations and rights about their jobs. While Indonesia, through its Manpower and Transmigration Minister, Erman Suparno, supported its employer who allegedly breached the contract to demand unrealistic compensation.

What would you do if you were Nike? I would start looking for other country which provides me better business contract and could keep their promise because I need a peace of mind in doing business.

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

By Beni Bevly
The OverseasThinkTankforIndonesia.com (OTTI) is founded with a mission to to analyze and synthesize problems in Indonesia intellectually and to deliver the results to the government and the public of Indonesia with purpose of providing some answers that would develop Indonesia. However this very new blog is just a tiny starting point and still far away from what to be expected.

Despite it’s still far from expected, OTTI has been chosen as one of the sources on the www.worldwidirectory.com with 2 and 5 star category, side by side with The Official Site by Indonesia Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Many of the sources have no stars and only a few of them were awarded star/stars. Looking at its traffic which ranks 73,137 at www.alexa.com by the time this article was posted, worldwidirectory.com has significant role in providing worldwide information. It means, hopefully, OTTI soon will get recognized by more parties.

The other good news is that one of the OTTI’s articles, Deliver Us from Evil was archived by www.bishop-accountability.org, a non-profit corporation based in Massachusetts, USA. This non-profit organization is making an effort to archive comprehensive documents in order to hold the bishops accountable for bringing abusers into the priesthood and for transferring known abusers into unsuspecting parishes. Hopefully, this article will take part in achieving their noble goal.

It obvious, slowly but sure, OTTI has moved to the right direction in achieving its giant mission.

Last but not least, I welcome and invite people who have the passion in developing Indonesia to join OTTI as a volunteer columnist. Feel free to contact Beni Bevly at benibevly@prodigy.net.

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

UK national branding logo
Image source: logolounge.com

By Beni Bevly
The government of Indonesia plans to create national branding that will be used nationally as one of the efforts to develop tourism, investment and trading sectors. The Minister of Trade, Mari Elka Pangestu said, “For Indonesia, the branding issue must start from changing the bad perceptions about the people of Indonesia, safety, and natural disasters” (Antara.co.id, June 4, 2007). The question is what is actually national branding? What are the obstacles to promote Indonesia’s new branding? How to change the bad perceptions that mentioned by Pangestu?

The terminology of branding originally was derived from business or management discipline. Management and business guru Philip Kotler in his B2B Brand Management mentioned branding is about promising that the company’s offering will create and deliver a certain level of performance. The promise behind the brand becomes the motivating force for all the activities of the company and its partners. Furthermore he said, thus branding is the road that a company must travel to define what it wants to be excellent at and how its offerings differ from competitors.

In other words, if we put it in a nation context, national branding is about promising that the nation’s offering will create and deliver a certain level of performance. It is the road that a nation must travel to define what it wants to be excellent at and how its offerings differ from others.

In the case of national branding for Indonesia, the government needs to define what they want Indonesia to be excellent at. Despite of what the government would say about it, it is easier for us to discover what we, as the people of Indonesia do not want Indonesia to be.

Do we want to be a barbaric and be one of the most unstable nation in the world? This question is asked because Indonesian government never solves the barbaric actions that conducted by New Order under Soeharto who killed more than one million people in his anti-communist political campaign in 1965-1966. The government also never punishes the actors behind May 1998 riot that caused at least 1,000 people died, 168 cases of rape, destroyed an estimated Rp. 3,200 billion in stock and property. There were civil wars between tribes and different religion practitioners that caused more than 1,000 people died in late 1999 and early 2000s. It was reported that one fourth of East Timor population (200,000 people) were eliminated by Indonesian army or died because of starvation, but there was no consequence for the commander in chief who involved (etan.org, February 18, 1999)

Do we want to be a nation that easily destroyed and has difficulty to recover from natural disasters? The Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004; a magnitude-8.7 earthquake on Nias Island in March 2005; the Yogyakarta earthquake; a mud volcano in East Java in May 2006; a magnitude-7.7 quake and tsunami along the southern coast of Java in 2006; flooding and mudslides in North Sumatra and Aceh provinces in December; flooding in Jakarta in February; and a magnitude-6.3 earthquake and magnitude-6.1 aftershock in West Sumatra in March stroke Indonesia. Indonesia was just like a tiny puppet that had lost its effort to survive and recover.

In the Asian tsunami itself, Indonesia suffered 4.45 billion dollar AS (ADPC, 2005). The main problem is about how Indonesian government responds to these disasters? Compared to Thai government, Indonesia was far left behind. Now there is almost no sign seen if there was a disaster in Thailand, while we still see a lot of people are suffering in Indonesia because of that disaster (beritaiptek.com, December 26, 2006).

Do we want to be portrayed as a nation that is ranked as the most corrupt country in Asia by foreign businessmen? (tvnz.co.nz , March 8, 2005). In my previous article, I identified that there was Rp. 2,100 trillion had been corrupted for the last 30 years.

Do we want to be perceived as one of the nests of terrorists just because the minority Muslim fundamentalists’ actions? Kim Barker from chicagotribune.com described, “Extremist groups have recruited new members, fought a jihad, or holy war, on one of the country’s islands, and staged three major terrorist attacks against Western targets, including one in October 2002 at two nightclubs on the island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.” (chicagotribune.com, December 15, 2004). This statement even scares more westerns by looking at the fact that Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, i.e. 90 percent of the 238 million people in Indonesia say they are Muslim.

The above questions become the bad perceptions and finally they also become Indonesia government’s obstacles and challenges to create a new national branding.

Regardless what kind of national branding that government will promote, these obstacles and bad perceptions have to be changed or removed. Firstly and foremost, we need to change the character of our people and the government officials. The purpose of changing the character is to eliminate and prove that the above incidents, such as the barbaric and immoral actions will not be repeated again, the corruptions will be treated as infidel, and Indonesia will be more moderate and ready to cooperate with the international society.

Secondly, to meet our new national branding, the people need to be trained in line with the message in the new national branding. It would be impossible to promote the new national branding without supported by Indonesians’ new behaviors.

With the government’s plan to create the new national branding, will the new Indonesia emerge in international forum? Will it benefit its people? Let’s wait and see.
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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

Oleh Beni Bevly

“Aku ini bukan apa-apa kalau tanpa rakyat. Aku besar karena rakyat, aku berjuang karena rakyat dan aku penyambung lidah rakyat,” Soekarno, Menggali Api Pancasila.

Ada dua peristiwa sangat penting yang terjadi kehidupan Soekarno pada bulan Juni, tahun 1970. Sejarawan Prancis, Jacques Leclerc, mengatakan bahwa Soekarno telah “dibunuh dua kali” karena Hari Kelahiran Pancasila yang Soekarno bidanin pada 1 Juni 1945 dilarang oleh Orde Baru untuk diperingati. Pada tanggal 21, bulan Juni 1970 jugalah, Soekarno meninggal di “penjara” di Wisma Yaso, Jakarta dengan kondisi yang tak terawat (Asvi Warman Adam, Pancasila dan Soekarno, jawapos.com) Larangan untuk memperingati hari lahirnya Pancasila adalah pembunuhan pertama dan kematian Seokarno di Wisma Yaso adalah pembunuhan kedua.

Aku menilai peristiwa ini sebagai suatu cerminan penghinaan terhadap seorang founding father. Betapa tidak? Perjuangan untuk memerdekakan Indonesia dan menyatukannya di bawah Pancasila dengan melewati rintangan yang panjang, berat dan keluar-masuk penjara di bawah penjajah ternyata pada hari terakhirnya, Soekarno harus meninggal di dalam “penjara” di negara yang ia merdekakan. Bukan itu saja, Pancasila yang ia mimpikan akan menjadi dasar negara yang mulia ternyata menjadi senjata yang ganas dan dipergunakan untuk menumpas jutaan rakyat Indonesia di bawah rejim Soeharto.

Untuk menghilangkan arti Pancasila yang sesungguhnya, Soeharto melarang peringatan hari lahirnya Pancasila pada setiap tanggal 1 Juni. Hal ini dilakukan agaknya berkaitan dengan ide pencetusan Pancasila oleh Soekarno pada tanggal 1 Juni 1945. Ide ini dituangkan dalam pidato di depan BPUPKI, ia mendapatkan sambutan sangat meriah dan tepuk tangan paling ramai. Intinya, Soekarno melihat bahwa Pancasila bisa dipakai sebagai alat yang bisa menerima perbedaan dan mempersatu bangsa yang beragam dari Sabang sampai Merauke. Untuk memperlihatkan betapa beragamnya bangsa Indonesia, Sokarno pernah mengaku kepada Louise Fischer, bahwa ia sekaligus Muslim, Kristen, dan Hindu (Clifford Geertz, Islam Observed, 1982). Tetapi Soeharto mempergunakan Pancasila sebagai alat penumpas perbedaan dan alat memperkokoh kekuasaan.

Bukan itu saja, untuk memperkokoh Pancasila, Soeharto mengidentikan Pancasila sebagai perisai yang menghancurkan PKI di Indonesia dengan menetapkan Hari Kesaktian Pancasila dan diperingati secara sakral pada setiap tanggal 1 Oktober. Di samping itu Pancasila juga dijadikan asas tunggal bagi semua partai politik dan organisasi masyarakat tanpa kecuali.

Ideologi itu dikampanyekan secara nasional dan lewat pendidikan sekolah. Penataran dilakukan secara berjenjang dan menggunakan anggaran negara. Namun, Pancasila yang diajarkan sudah direduksi menjadi sekian butir-butir sifat yang harus dihafal. Pancasila juga digunakan sebagai alat pemukul bagi kelompok yang kritis. Orang yang menolak tanahnya digusur dicap “anti-Pancasila” (Asvi Warman Adam, Pancasila dan Soekarno, jawapos.com).

Yang lebih menyedihkan lagi, seperti di singgung di atas, Soekarno diberlakukan seperti seorang “kriminal” di Wisma Yaso, Jalan Gatoto Subroto, Jakarta. Kabarnya, semua hubungan Soekarno dengan dunia luar ditutup. Ia tidak dijinkan untuk mendengar radio, menonton televisi dan membaca koran. Selama di wisma itu, ia hanya ditemani oleh seorang dokter umum yang tidak memiliki spesialisasi sehingga pada saat Seokarno sakit komplikasi, ia tidak mendapat perawatan yang layak. Lebih dari itu, Soekarno juga sangat dibatasi untuk menemui keluarganya. Dengan bantuan seorang dokter gigi keturunan Cina, Oei Hong Kian, ia bisa menyelinap keluar dengan mengaku sakit gigi. Itulah satu-satunya kebahagiaan yang ia miliki, yaitu berkumpul dengan keluarganya.

Apakah Soekarno diam saja terhadap semua penghinaan yang ia alami sejak tahun 1965? Ternyata tidak. Hal ini dibuktikan dengan pidato yang berjumlah 103 kali dalam periode 1965-1967. Di antaranya yang diketahui oleh umum adalah pidato pertanggungjawabannya, Nawaksara, yang ditolak MPRS tahun 1967. Selebihnya pernyataan dan pidato Soekarno tidak disiarkan oleh koran-koran, radio ataupun televisi yang telah dikuasai Soeharto.

Berikut adalah beberapa pernyataan Soekarno yang patut diketahui oleh Rakyat Indonesia (tokohindonesia.com):

Dalam pidato 20 November 1965 di depan keempat panglima Angkatan di Istana Bogor BK mengatakan, “Ada perwira yang bergudul. Bergudul itu apa? Hei, Bung apa itu bergudul? Ya, kepala batu.” Tampaknya ucapannya itu ditujukan kepada Soeharto. Pada kesempatan yang sama Soekarno menegaskan, “Saya yang ditunjuk MPRS menjadi Panglima Besar Revolusi. Terus terang bukan Subandrio. Bukan Leimena…. Bukan engkau Soeharto, bukan engkau Soeharto, dan seterusnya (berbeda dengan nama tokoh lain, Soeharto disebut dua kali dan secara berturut-turut).

Tanggal 12 Desember 1965 ketika berpidato dalam rangka ulang tahun Kantor Berita Antara di Bogor, Presiden mengatakan tidak ada kemaluan yang dipotong dalam peristiwa di Lubang Buaya. Demikian pula tidak ada mata yang dicungkil seperti ditulis pers. 100 silet yang dibagikan untuk menyilet kemaluan jenderal itu tidak masuk akal.

Memang Soekarno tidak terlepas dari kekurangan dan kesalahan, sebagai contoh ketika tahun 1963 diangkat sebagai presiden seumur hidup, ia tidak menolak. Tetapi bukan berarti bahwa jasa terpentingnnya seperti sebagai perumus Pancasila bisa dipungkiri dan dimelencengkan. Juga bukan berarti bahwa kebebasan fisik, pikiran dan mentalnya bisa dikekang dan dianiaya begitu saja. Akhir kata, Soekarno bukanlah tokoh yang patut dihina, tetapi ia adalah lambang pemersatu bangsa. Bukankah suatu bangsa yang besar adalah bangsa yang menghormati pahlawannya?

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

Oleh Beni Bevly
Membaca pernyataan seorang menteri tentang keadaan desa-desa tertinggal di Indonesia sempat membuatku tercengang. Lalu aku teringat akan satu artikel yang pernah aku baca, yaitu tulisan Hayie Muhammad, Direktur Program Indonesia Procurement Watch. Aku pikir kenapa tidak aku coba hubungkan ini semua dengan menggunakan hitung-hitungan matematika secara kasar. Setelah aku lakukan, ternyata aku menemukan angka yang juga sangat mencengangkan, yaitu hanya dengan 12.5% uang hasil korupsi, desa-desa tertinggal tersebut bisa dimajukan.

Pada tanggal 15 Mei 2007 lalu, Menteri Kedulatan dan Perikanan, Freddy Numberi di Surabaya mengatakan,

“Di Indonesia ada 70.611 desa
dengan 20.000 diantaranya tanpa Puskesmas,
17.000 tak bisa dilintasi,
12.000 tanpa listrik,
30.000 dengan sebagian punya listrik dan sebagian tak punya listrik, dan banyak lagi.
Jadi, Indonesia bukan cuma Jakarta atau Surabaya” (antara.co.id).

Mengapa keadaan desa-desa ini sampai sedemikian parahnya? Untuk menjawab ini, coba kita kaitan dengan angka korupsi yang meraja rela di Indonesia.

Menurut laporan Bank Dunia dalam Indonesia Country Procurement Assessment Report, Reforming the Public Procurement Assessment System (2003) dan Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi bahwa korupsi terbesar terjadi di bidang pengadaan barang/jasa, yaitu 77% dari total jumlah korupsi . Jumlah yang diperkirakan dikorupsi dari bidang ini setiap tahun mencapai hingga RP. 70 triliun (Hayie Muhammad, Mendesak, UU Pengadaan Barang, 2007). Jika kita berasumsi bahwa korupsi seperti ini telah bejalan 30 tahun, maka angka yang diperoleh adalah:

Rp. 70 triliun x 30 tahun = Rp. 2.100 triliun yang dikorupsi.

Selanjutnya kita akan hitung berapa biaya yang dibutuhkan untuk membangun puskesmas, sekolah, jalan aspal dan pembangunan listrik bagi saudara-saudara kita yang malang di desa yang ditinggal.

Pembangungan satu puskesmas memakan biaya sekitar Rp. 50 juta dan sekolahan SD sekitar Rp. 90 juta. Hal ini terlihat dari kegiatan yang dilakukan oleh Dompet Bengkulu dengan mengandalkan biaya dari Pembaca Kompas tahun 2000, sebagai berikut:

Dua proyek yang biaya pembangunannya ditanggung oleh Dompet Bengkulu adalah satu puskesmas pembantu Rp 49,5 juta, dan satu unit SD senilai Rp 88,4 juta (kompas.com).

Pembangunan jalan beraspal dibutuhkan biaya Rp. 1,6 milliar per kilo meter. Ingat ini adalah angka dari dari pemerintah, Dirjen Bina Marga, yang biasanya telah dibesar-besarkan atau di-mark up untuk dikorupsi. Kutipan langsungnya sebagai berikut:

Berdasarkan hasil kajian Ditjen Bina Marga, biaya konstruksi pengecoran beton badan jalan dengan lebar tujuh meter rata-rata sebesar Rp 2 miliar per kilometer. Sedangkan pembangunan jalan baru yang menggunakan aspal menghabiskan biaya Rp 1,6 miliar per kilometer (perpustakaan.bappenas.go.id).

Total jalan di Indonesia panjangnya 368.360 km, di antaranya yang beraspal 213.649 km dan yang tidak beraspal sepanjang 154.711 km (cia.gov). Aku berasumsi, jika jalan yang 154.711 km diaspal maka sebagian 17.000 desa itu bisa dilintasi.

Biaya penyambungan listrik untuk satu rumah dengan contoh Banda Aceh adalah mulai dari Rp. 454.000, Rp. 655.000 dan Rp. 1,1 juta (serambinews.com). Ambillah nilai tengahnya, yaitu Rp. 655.000 dan anggaplah rata-rata terdapat 1.500 rumah di setiap desa.

Maka perhitungan untuk keseluruhan pembiayaan di atas adalah:

20.000 puskesmas x Rp.50 juta = Rp. 1.000.000.000.000 atau Rp.1 triliun

20.000 SD x Rp. 90 juta = Rp. 1.800.000.000.000 atau Rp. 1,8 triliun

154.711 km jalan x Rp. 1.6 milliar = Rp. 247.537.600.000.000 atau Rp. 248 triliun.

12.000 desa x 1.500 rumah x Rp. 650 ribu biaya listrik = Rp. 11.700.000.000.000 atau Rp. 12 triliun.

Jadi total biaya yang diperlukan untuk mengatasi permasalah yang dikatakan oleh menteri Kedulatan dan Perikanan, Freddy Numberi adalah Rp. 262,8 triliun.

Jumalah uang Rp. 262,8 triliun (12.5%) ini relatif kecil dan tidak berarti dibandingkan dari Rp. 2.100 triliun yang lenyap karena korupsi. Kalau begitu, jika uang yang hilang karena korupsi tersebut dipergunakan sebagaimana mestinya, maka saudara-saudara kita di yang desa-desa tersebut tidak perlu merasakan penderitaan seperti sekarang. Jika tidak ada penderitaan seperti ini, para menteripun kehabisan bahan pidato yang membuat aku tercengang mendengarkannya. Bukan itu saja, pemerintahpun akan kelebihan uang sebesar Rp. 1.837,2 triliun (Rp. 2.100 triliun – Rp. 262.8 triliun). Lalu mau dikemanakan uang yang maha banyak ini? Dikorupsi lagi?

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

Oleh Beni Bevly
Keikutsertaan putri Indonesia di setiap pageant contest, termasuk Miss Universe, pada umumnya mengundang kontroversi. Miss Universe kali ini diselenggarakan di Mexico City dan akan disiarkan secara langsung pada tanggal 28 May oleh stasiun NBC, Amerika. Agni Pratistha Arkadewi Kuswardono (Agni Kuswardono) terpilih sebagai Putri Indonesia untuk mewakili Indonesia di kancah internasional ini. Pada era reformasi ini, kontroversi masih terus ada, namun kali ini bukan berasal dari pemerintah, tetapi berasal dari organisasi-organisasi islam konservatif yang menentang Miss Indonesia Universe karena menggunakan swimsuit atau pakaian renang (id.wikipedia.org).

Kontroversi seperti ini tidak hanya menjadi miliknya Indonesia. Pada tahun 2003, Miss Afghanistan, Vida Samadzai mendapat kecaman tajam dan ancaman dari negaranya sendiri karena mengenakan bikini di depan khalayak ramai. Di bawah ini aku kutip sebagai berikut:

Samadzai could face prosecution if she returns to her native country because of her attire at the Manila pageant, a senior Afghan justice official said Saturday.

Fazel Ahmad Manawi, deputy head of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court, told The Associated Press that Samadzai, a college student in California, had betrayed Afghan culture by appearing at the Miss Earth contest in a bikini — and may have also broken the law.

“I hope that this lady regrets her actions,” Manawi said. He added that Afghan prosecutors may open an investigation, but refused to say what charges or penalties Samadzai could face (Chinadaily.com)

Masih dalam artikel yang aku kutip di atas, oleh pihak lain tindakan Miss Afghanistan Vida Samadzai ini dianggap sebagai suatu hal yang positif dan kemenangan bagi kaum wanita.

But judges announced that, for the first time, they were handing out a “beauty for a cause” prize. They awarded it to Samadzai for “symbolizing the newfound confidence, courage and spirit of today’s women” and “representing the victory of women’s rights and various social, personal and religious struggles.”

Selain itu, Vida Samadzai juga mengadakan pembelaan yang intinya menyatakan bahwa kontroversi dia dalam Miss Earth contest bukan karena fanatisme agama, tetapi kelaliman dari ketidak-pedulian dan ketidak-adanya tolerasi terhadap wanita.

The world through my eyes growing up has been a world where women’s rights were suppressed and their very basic human rights have been constantly violated. As an Afghan woman I look at this problem not as religious fanaticism, but the supremacy of ignorance and lack of tolerance (Vidasamadzai.com)

Jelas Miss Afghanistan, Vida Samadzai melihat keterlibatannya dalam pageant contest adalah suatu perlawanan dan kemenangan terhadap kelaliman yang tidak punya kepedulian dan toleransi terhadap wanita. Sedangkan di lain pihak yang menantang kegiatan ini melihat bahwa keikut sertaan dalam kontes ini adalah suatu penghinaan, pencemaran dan merendahkan martabat wanita.

Kembali ke masalah kontroversi yang terjadi di Indonesia mengenai keikutsertaan Putri Indonesia, Agni Kuswardono di Miss Universe, penilainnya aku serahkan kepada anda.

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.