A Vision for Indonesia

Published in The Jakarta Post on 8th August, 2006 under the title, “Indonesia can rise to the challenge”.

Can best practices in corporate leadership offer solutions to the huge challenges Indonesia is facing? The answer, I believe, is not only “Yes”; but that such practices are essential.

A burgeoning population, sectarian strife, endemic corruption, unemployment at an estimated 45.2 million people, low income and growth that lags well behind its neighbours such as Thailand and Malaysia, environmental destruction and catastrophic natural disasters, are just some of Indonesia’s enormous challenges. To these can be added the growing threats of: bird flu, religious fundamentalism and a climate change that could adversely affect crop yields and cause sea levels to rise, with all that this latter implies for a heavily populated archipelagic state. Is there any wonder that the Indonesian press is full of intellectualising, hand wringing and angst-ridden articles that are more symptomatic of a feeling of hopelessness and being overwhelmed than of a way forward?

I was brought up with the belief that, “Where there is a will, there is a way”. Undoubtedly, for Indonesia too, there is a way of rising to its many challenges, but it requires greater awareness of its strengths and weaknesses and, most of all, a re-evaluation of what it wants for its people. In short, it requires a vision.

To be strong, dynamic and enduring the vision must offer a simple, compelling cause that is easy for people to relate to, adopt and invest emotion in and, ideally, it should also be self-reinforcing. It must offer people the essence of what they want out of life and a means to achieve it through their own participation that is, in itself, rewarding.

There is, I believe, no more life-empowering belief than this: the purpose of life is a life of worthy purpose.

What then is the role of Indonesia’s leaders in helping people achieve this? Robin S. Sharma, the internationally acclaimed corporate leadership coach, provides an answer: “The ultimate task of the visionary leader is to dignify and honour the lives of those he leads by allowing them to manifest their highest potential through the work that they do. The greatest privilege of leadership is the chance to elevate lives”.

Note the upward spiral in these last two paragraphs. Their message is circular and reinforcing. We all need a purposeful life and it is the purpose of visionary leadership to facilitate the realisation of that purpose. If we then acknowledge that during our lives we all, at times, have leadership roles, whether as older siblings, parents, older friends, employers or senior employees, etc., the circular reinforcement becomes even more evident. We all gain purpose from helping others gain purpose and to charge everyone with this kind of leadership is to empower the nation.

How, then, does this translate into a vision for Indonesia that transcends political, ethnic, and religious differences? Like this:

It is the responsibility of every person in Indonesia, especially those with the most resources, to work to guarantee these four requisites, aimed at ensuring every person, without exception, is given the chance to lead a dignified, purposeful, responsible, fulfilled and compassionate life:

1. Quality education

2. Good nutrition and health care

3. Freedom from unjust or arbitrary power

4. Safety and security of person

This vision satisfies the criteria for a good, strong vision that are mentioned above and, to quote Robin S. Sharma again, “Once you surrender to your vision, success begins to chase you. Ultimately, you really can’t pursue success, success ensues. It flows as the unintended by-product of effective efforts concentrated in the direction of a worthy purpose.”

Achieving the four requisites may seem like a tall order at first. However, through the use of self-propagating techniques in well-chosen nuclei of reform dotted around resource-rich but income-poor Indonesia, exponential spread will inevitably result.

Contrary to popular belief, quality education does not have to be expensive. Didactic materials can be manufactured cheaply locally, if necessary second-hand computers and other equipment can be obtained inexpensively from rich countries and pioneers of better teaching methods can be nurtured in model schools before being sent out to invigorate others.

The same applies in the field of health care. In the high-salaried West pets receive far better medical attention than the majority of Indonesians and for low insurance premiums. Why is it, therefore, not possible to provide good health care for people in low-salaried Indonesia at an even lower cost than for mere pets in the West?

While official corruption is rife the power of the state is usurped in the narrow interests of individuals and seriously detracts from ensuring everyone, without exception, has the chance to lead a purposeful life. Everyone, therefore, has the responsibility to ensure corruption is stamped out by, first and foremost, not fuelling it by paying bribes. In the corrupt climate of Indonesia this is not as easy as it may seem, but collectively it can be achieved. In extinguishing corruption the emphasis must be placed pragmatically on improving the future as opposed to punishing the transgressions of the past, for the latter will simply divert energy and generate resistance that will thwart progress. Eliminating corruption is, in many ways, the key to Indonesia’s economic advancement because as Hernando De Soto points out in his book, “The Mystery of Capital”, assets cannot become capital to generate wealth unless there is rule of law. In its hydrocarbons, minerals, fertile soil, natural beauty and bio-diversity Indonesia has immense assets. To turn them into capital and then wealth that enhances purposeful lives requires a vision that will lead to the rule of law and, perhaps paradoxically, the first sign of such an advance will be government officials pushing collectively for higher salaries!

Lastly, safety and security of everyone must be guaranteed regardless of religion, ethnicity or political belief. This is the only way to prevent regression in the form of inter-community strife and, ultimately, the break-up of Indonesia into even more troubled mini-states. Both the army and the police must adopt the pragmatic principle that violence must not be used against anyone except to restrain a person who, through the use of violence, is a danger to society and, even then, the use of force must be proportionate.

All the above is achievable. The training and expertise are available. Resources that cannot be obtained from the Government can be obtained from a veritable plethora of NGOs, international agencies, foreign governments, benefactors and from businesses that have the vision to recognise, what Professor C. K. Prahalad of the University of Michigan Business School calls, “The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid”.

It was the German philosopher, Johann von Goethe, who said, “Whatever you do and dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic.”