Managing differences and competing interests

Marty M. Natalegawa, Kuala Lumpur | Fri, 01/20/2012 10:21 AM A | A | A |-Klipping The Jakarta Post

I was privileged to witness the first time Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced the “Global Movement of Moderates” at the 65th session of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2010 and then again, soon after that, at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Brussels.

As an advocate of peace among and within nations, Indonesia strongly welcomes this initiative. It strengthens and vindicates our own efforts to give voice to the moderates in our own society – and in all societies.

As one of the most diverse nations in the world, Indonesia is home to more than 300 ethnic groups. It is home to the world’s largest Muslim population; and it is home to all of humankind’s other great religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and several denominations of Christianity.

Indonesia proudly bears the civilizational influences of the Middle East, the Sub-Continent, the rest of East Asia as well as the Western world. A broad spectrum of political persuasions is also at work in our society. Indeed, Indonesia is diverse in all aspects.

And yet, we have succeeded in nurturing our national unity and we have made a successful transition from authoritarianism to a fully democratic system. Throughout that transition, we did not regard our diversity as a problem to be managed; instead, we cherished it.

It is our asset, part of our national character, and we therefore celebrate it. We build upon it. Admittedly, however, our journey has not always been so smooth sailing.

At times, it was like a roller-coaster ride. We had to cope with separatist threats, ethnic tensions and religious conflicts. In fact, in the turbulent times following the 1998 crisis, some observers went so far as to predict the failure of Indonesia as a unified country, expecting something akin to the “balkanization” of Indonesia.

But the overwhelming majority of our people remained committed to the unity of Indonesia. And instead of falling apart, we adopted a new approach; we reformed our governance and we overcame the challenges.

Thus, we have acquired a second major asset, which is our experience in democratic transition and social reform — lessons-learned that may be of relevance to others.

That transition, too, has not been an easy process. It demanded resilience, perseverance and commitment from all Indonesians.

From that experience of political transition in the midst of diversity, others may derive insights that are useful in their own efforts toward political development; and develop for themselves practical ideas on how to manage, and indeed, embrace diversity.

That’s why we established the Bali Democracy Forum, the only intergovernmental forum in Asia for the exchange of experiences and best practices in political development. We are confident that through this forum, we can learn from one another’s experiences on our respective challenges and opportunities in addressing diversity as part of overall political development.

Let me now take this opportunity to share with you two basic conclusions that may be drawn from the Indonesian experience.

First, democracy is an effective response to the competing interests and agendas within society. This is largely the case, whether that society is relatively homogenous or vastly diversified, as in Indonesia.

We embraced democracy. We launched our transition to a democratic system. We carried out far-reaching reforms. All voices now gained a hearing and all interests were now taken into consideration in a genuine search for common ground.

We developed a system in which all stakeholders could participate: not only through free and fair elections, not only through dialogue between accountable representatives and their constituents but also through various avenues of feedback which were wide open — including a free press and various forums through which petitions and grievances could be expressed and heard.

Thus, people now feel empowered. They have a sense of ownership toward the actions of the state and they feel they are making a contribution to day-to-day governance.

That’s how democracy took deep root in our country: it was supported and nourished by the core values of Islam and other faiths in Indonesia; by our cultures and traditions; by our own social standards.

That’s how we sent a message to the world that Islam, democracy and modernization can flourish together. And that democracy pays political, social and economic dividends.

Within 13 years, we emerged as a vibrant economic power with regional and global outreach and we are more stable, politically and socially, than we have ever been.

I can reaffirm that Indonesia’s diversity is not a problem to be managed, but an asset that we celebrate and build upon. The world is even more diversified. I believe we can celebrate, build upon and unleash the full potential of global diversity for the benefit of all humankind.

This brings me to the second basic conclusion I wish to share with you. In the same way as democracy is the best response to competing interests at the national level, the most effective response to competing national interests at the global level is the democratization of global governance.

This means that in the face of the many disparate national interests being put forward in global forums, we must now earnestly look for common ground.

In this regard, I recall that when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed UNESCO in Paris last year, he cited decisive changes that were exerting a profound impact on the global order.

One of the most crucial of these changes is the growing role of the developing world in the global economy.

The rise of the emerging economies, their calls for reform of the international financial architecture and their willingness to work with the developed world to solve global problems, represents a unique opportunity for democratization within international governance.

I sincerely believe that the democratization that took place at the national level in Indonesia — and in other nations making a transition similar to ours — can be replicated at the global level to address competing national interests. If we all work together to carry this out, the benefits for all people everywhere will be tremendous.

The moderates in the world should not feel isolated from one another for there is no lack of forums and processes for dialogue among faiths, cultures and civilizations. And yet there are still outbreaks of violence in many parts of the world that stem from prejudice and intolerance.

This does not mean that dialogue doesn’t work. But it may mean that dialogue has not yet spread itself wide enough and that there is room for further inclusion.

As Prime Minister Najib said in his keynote address, we have to make the voice of reason louder than the voice of hatred. We have to take risks. We must summon every bit of courage within ourselves and exercise it.

That is why I am optimistic about this Global Movement of Moderates and its tremendous capacity to promote dialogue.

The article is an excerpt from a speech by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty M. Natalegawa at the International Conference on the Global Movement of Moderates in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Jan. 18, 2012.