Rising conservatism in Asia-Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has disappointed Indonesian liberals again and again

Rising conservatism in Asia

Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has disappointed Indonesian liberals again and again.

 

Many editorials, blog post and articles have cited examples of Indonesia’s deviation from democracy over the last month.

 

The government refused to apologize for the communist purge in the 1960s.

 

A Swedish citizen was detained and deported after visiting his father’s grave.

 

The Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) was forbidden from covering several topics. A campus magazine was unable to distribute its 1965 special edition publicly.

 

Many Indonesians and their friends rightly fear the return of militarism to Indonesia.

 

Twenty-five years after the end of the Cold War, Islamists and the military still perceive communism as a real danger to Indonesia, although the above-mentioned undemocratic acts were not done in response to the threat of a communist revival. Police and Army spokesmen have confirmed that they were acting against perceived slights to their honor.

 

West Sumatran police and immigration officers were worried that Tom Iljas could be another foreign filmmaker on a mission to embarrass Indonesia. UWRF was told to discuss only books, not film or history. Students of Satya Wacana Christian University were willing to admit that many new Christian converts from 1965 to 1970 were just trying to save their lives, but the military still doesn’t want to admit to the mass tortures and killings they went on in the vicinity of Salatiga.

 

The most common explanation is that the president needs to stay on the good side of the military and the police and that the ruling PDI-P has always been friendly with the military (party chairman Megawati Soekarnoputri launched a military operation in Aceh during her presidency). Of course, this rationale does not justify the bizarre and simplistic “national defense” program that, according to the Defense Ministry, is not a form of national service.

 

Many Indonesians believe that the vague national defense program promoted by the government will eventually take the form of the infamous P4 classes of the 20th century and that Indonesia will soon join other Asian nations, such as Taiwan, in forcing conscription upon its citizens. Did Jokowi trick those of us who consider ourselves liberals? I don’t believe that he did given that the other option was obviously a more militaristic and hawkish candidate. If you want to imagine life in an alternate Indonesia, look no further than our neighbor Thailand. The military junta has orchestrated “attitude adjustment” programs directed toward journalists and students. Meanwhile in Malaysia, corruption, political crisis and racial tension, things usually associated with Indonesia, have engulfed our territorial neighbor. Human Rights Watch released a report recently on Malaysia titled Creating a Culture of Fear. The report outlines Kuala Lumpur’s attempts to “shut down media and silence critics”.

 

And what about the “history war” surrounding 1965 or the idea of “history wars” more broadly?

 

 A richer democracy in Asia has made a more controversial decision in this regard than Jakarta.

 

Progressive Indonesians have often placed their trust in the silent majority.

 

The South Korean government has authorized a plan to create a standard history textbook and the South Korean ministry of education has condemned textbooks printed by private publishers for “confusing intellectually immature students”. Historians refuse to participate in the project and believe that the syllabus would paint past military dictatorships in a more positive light. The worrying trend is that as Asia grows richer, it is growing more conservative. It happened to Europe a century ago. Margaret MacMillan’s excellent history detailing the road to World War I, The War that Ended Peace, shows how millions of Europeans were terrified by the changes brought about by modernity. Unsettled by the radio, motion pictures, faster steamships and automobiles, Europeans sought refuge in medieval romance and military parades. Artists and intellectuals lamented the decadence of modern life and longed for war to purify nations.

 

Perhaps that is what is happening now in Asia. A declining Japan lashes out at South Korea and China for matching its economic, technological and even cultural achievements. In return, a rising South Korea and China demand that Japan admit to and apologize for its conduct during World War II. The marriage of religion and nationalism has brought about violence in India and Myanmar and every Asia-Pacific analyst follows minute-by-minute developments in the South China Sea

 

.If we can get answers from Indonesian conservatives, their answers would be similar to those of their counterparts in other parts of Asia. Some in Indonesia fear that this country will be overrun by Chinese migrants just as Europeans are worried about Muslim refugees. Conservative Indonesians and conservative South Koreans believe that communists lurk behind the agenda of gay-rights, gender equality and a free press. There are not many Asian progressives, and even left-wing Asians still have a good chance of being sexist and racist. Progressive Indonesians have often placed their trust in the silent majority and luckily, so far, it has worked out. It’s helpful that the conservatives in the government and the security sector are too lazy and hesitant to push forward their agenda. This means that this relatively poor country still has a free press, relatively open Internet access, and yes, a responsive public.

 

The writer Mario Rustan is a columnist for feminist website Magdalene