Jakarta – The Indonesian National Resilience Institute, an institute under the Ministry of Defense, said here Wednesday that the country is facing an imminent collapse and a breakdown of the country seems to be a matter of time.

The institute's governor, Johny J. Lumintang, told the House of Representatives Commission I for security, defense and foreign affairs in a hearing, "After the kicking off of the national reforms movement [two years ago], the condition of national life is much worse now."

"Theoretically, we can see that the collapse threshold of our country [nation disintegration] is close to reality if we are not aware of this and do not consolidate [ourselves] as well as making some improvements," Lumintang said. He added that theoretically, the collapse of the nation is indicated by the protracted economic crisis, disharmony among politicians, the nation's disharmony, demoralization of the soldiers and international intervention.

"If we see the symptoms and then we see the reality that we have been facing at the moment, we can conclude that some signs are shown," he said. "The ongoing economic crisis has not yet been overcome, elite politicians blame each other and national disharmony has been taking place," he added.

Lumintang further urged elite politicians to work hand in hand in dealing with the problems by putting aside their disputes. He also said that to prevent international intervention into the country's internal affairs, "the Indonesian nation should be able to deal with its problems based on our own standard and universal standard."

The protracted economic crisis has caused new challenges and constraints to the more then 210 million people in Indonesia and a political crisis followed. Moreover, some provinces in Indonesia, namely the western-most province of Aceh and the eastern-most province of Irian Jaya, have been demanding independence despite calls from the government to accept a wide-ranging autonomy status.