[Indonesia: Democracy and the Promise of Good Governance. Editors: Ross H. McLeod, Andrew MacIntyre. Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). 207 pages, 2007.]

Setiono Sugiharto, Contributor – The demise of Soeharto's authoritarian rule in 1998 paved the way for a climate of democracy in Indonesia. After more than three decades under the iron-fist ruler, Indonesia began to experiment with democratic governance.

The birth of Indonesia's infant democracy prompted Indonesian people to seek betterment in all sectors of life, the most obvious being politics and media.

We have witnessed progress in Indonesia's government since 1998. A clear case in point is the people's serious commitment to upholding the general election in 2005 that brought President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to power. The relative freedom of expression through national media is another notable achievement.

However, despite this progress, the enthusiasm for sustaining this relatively democratic climate is not without challenges. There are still myriad lingering problems, most of which are the legacy of Soeharto's New Order regime, which is seen as the great barrier in the creation of good governance and a democratic country.

Realizing how fragile young democracy is if not well-supported by effective government, McLeod and MacIntyre stress the importance of the government's efforts in advancing social and economic domains, critical for legitimacy and political survival. In essence, effective governance is an important pre-condition for democratization.

As an anthology of highly selected writings by different experts in their fields, this edited "Indonesia update" series offers a critical account of the Indonesian government's attempts to establish and refine a democratic framework of governance.

Essentially it tries to answer to what extent the practice of a young democracy here has yielded desirable outcomes.

The purpose, as the editors say, is not "to call into question the objective of creating a genuinely democratic system of government, but rather to look more deeply into what is required if those efforts are to be successful and sustainable". This book is divided into three parts, each centering on different, yet related, foci. The first part highlights the importance of refining Indonesia's political institutions.

As the country's political architecture is formed by governmental and political institutions, a closer inspection in these issues is imperative in determining the key indicators of good and effective governance.

The second part assesses the role the Indonesian government has played. It specifically examines important issues on the achievement and progress of the country's economic system since the reformation era began in 1998. The authors argue economic advancement and the welfare of the citizen are the key indicators of good governance. Thus democracy can only make sense and its existence be sustained if the citizens, including children, can enjoy the country's economic prosperity.

The second part of the book also warns of the danger of imposing the dominant religious majority (which is termed "Muslim politics") in a democratic country, begging the questions of promoting free religious beliefs, values and norms.

The final part focuses on two of the most important institutions of democracy, the civil service and the legal system.

The writers stress the need to reform the old systems which still surround these two institutions. The prevailing culture of corruption, militaristic structure of civil service, unprofessional recruitment of professionals, lack of transparency in budgeting, inconsistent enforcement of laws and endemic corruption in the judiciary system, among others, are the lingering flaws that pose an immense challenge to reforming the country's bureaucracy and judiciary to achieve effective governance.

Well-supported by studies, each of the chapters in these three parts are lucidly written, offering both hindsight and foresight of what the country has been experiencing in its search for effective governance and what remains to done to sustain the relative progress it has attained.

The issues discussed are assessed from both current and historical perspectives. As such, a balance in presenting viewpoints is struck, avoiding bias.

The book is a timely scholarly contribution that can stimulate and provoke discussion on politics, economy and other important socially related issues.

[The writer is chief-editor of the Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching.]