Obama, Indonesia, and Egypt...

I like Barack Obama. If I was an American I would have voted for the man. But, Mr. President, you are letting your 3 plus years in Indonesia go to your head and cloud your judgment. Indonesia is not a shining example that Egypt must follow as an example of how to transit from a dictatorship to democracy.

Perhaps you and your team need to revisit some of your perceptions of Indonesia. The reform process in Indonesia has been slow and very drawn out. There are still huge swathes of the population living on or below the poverty line. Religious fundamentalism and extremism continues to rear its ugly head. And, Mr. President, this is in spite of your claims back in November that Indonesia was a shining example of religious tolerance and pluralism in the Islamic world. Seriously Mr. President how do you think Indonesia's religious minorities such as the Ahmadis and the Christians are feeling about that in light of the recent violence that has been perpetrated against them?

Corruption is still rife in Indonesia. So rife, in fact, that it is almost an every other day occurrence. The scourge is pervasive and persistent. So much so that the president of Indonesia opts to stand idly by and claim professional distance while the primary platform of his mandate is eroded from around him by those who put him into power in the first place.

Nah, if the citizens of Egypt have the sense, and I am sure that they do, then they will not be looking towards the world's largest Muslim nation for any serious substantive pointers regarding a transition to democracy. Hopefully the Egyptian people will not suffer the same fate as Indonesia's long-suffering citizens.

On a final note, Indonesia has not successfully managed the aspirations of the people. In fact, the persistent pandering to special interests and Muslim fundamentalists has meant that extremism is on the rise. The military and police, and perhaps the whole law enforcement apparatus, are nervous. So, if success is gauged by the fact that Muslim groups are now openly canvassing the idea that it is time for the democratically elected president to resign and move out to pasture, then, yes, Mr. Obama, Indonesia is the shining example that Egypt needs to follow.

Then again, this might be why SBY is claiming responsibility for getting Hosni Mubarak to resign for the good of the Egyptian people...

Moderates vs. Fundamentalists / Radicals

The moderates against the radicals or the radicals against the moderates is not a new phenomenon in any country and Indonesia is no exception to this. The recent spate of attacks by fundamentalist Muslims against minority sects proffering an alternative view to the mainstream teachings of the faith indicates an escalating battle for control of religion. What is at stake? Perhaps the secular status of Indonesia.

I have written previously on this issue but it is one worth revisiting briefly. The MUI fatwa has provided the basis for the attacks by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the Indonesian Mujahideen Council (MMI) on the Ahmadiyah sect. The attacks have seen the mosques and property of Ahmadiyah followers burned and damaged. These attacks have also been directed personally at followers.

Unfortunately, the President has provided explicit support for the power of the MUI and the fatwas that it issues by stating that he will abide by them. This support has only emboldened the FPI and the MMI to advance their conservative agenda of establishing a pan-Asian Caliphate and then implementing / imposing Syariah law throughout the newly established Caliphate.

Interestingly, the MUI is funded generously by the Government but the Government is not bound to abide by any decisions made by the MUI. In fact, the Government could go a long way to reducing the importance of the MUI by refusing to fund it.

The question here though is: Are the moderates prepared to step up and take back the debate on secularism and lead a revival of moderate thought? The answer to this question will go a long way to determining the social stability Indonesia enjoys over the coming years.