Rizal Sukma, Jakarta – After creating much controversy with the publication of her book, Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari is now visiting campuses to promote what she calls "the ideology of courage". She proudly tells students about her "struggle" against the World Health Organization, which she has labeled "neo-colonialist" and "unjust". She also calls on students to exhibit "the ideology of courage".

True, we need to stand up against injustice in this world. However, we should not forget injustice is common in this country too. In fact, it is in the domestic theater where "the ideology of courage" is needed most. Unfortunately, when we are faced with this reality, such courage seems nowhere to be found.

For example, we lack courage to address the persistent culture of impunity within the military. After a decade of reformasi, none of the past cases of human rights abuses involving military personnel have been resolved. On the contrary, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono has encouraged retired Army generals implicated in such cases to ignore summons from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Courage is also required in the struggle against corruption. It is true there have been some improvements in government efforts to eradicate corruption, but recent cases involving top officials from the Attorney General's Office clearly demonstrate more effort and greater courage are still needed.

We need courage to combat a lack of public order. Various incidents of violence by vigilante groups need to be dealt with firmly. The government, and especially law enforcement agencies, should have the courage to enforce the law to the maximum in addressing this problem. If not, advocates of violence will prevail and the image of Indonesia as a peace-loving society will dissolve.

Public officials need the courage to resign if they cannot do their jobs well. It is indeed a rare occasion in Indonesia when a minister tenders his or her resignation upon making a serious mistake. Every one of them would argue that "resignation is a sign of cowardice" because "it is a way to escape responsibility".

Indeed, this is a unique quality among Indonesian officials who prefer to continue holding onto positions of power despite their inability to fulfill their tasks.

However, there is no need to be pessimistic. There are still a lot of people and groups with admirable amounts of courage out there.

Kontras, a small NGO founded 10 years ago by the late Munir, is one of them. Despite all kinds of acts of terror and intimidation against them, including the murder of their founder, Kontras activists continue to symbolize the courage to fight injustice. They work hard, day and night, to seek justice for victims of violence, most allegedly perpetrated by the state.

The government needs courage to bring to light the murder of Munir. It needs to be more serious in investigating the real killer(s). The fulfillment of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's promise to bring the perpetrator(s) to justice would send a strong message to the public that courage does not go unnoticed.

The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) is another such group blessed with commendable courage. Despite the magnitude of the problem, the ICW continues to highlight cases of corruption to the public. Without the courage of ICW activists, we might not know the extent of the problem, and the corruptors would continue to plunder the wealth of this nation. The work of the ICW has served as a deterrent to would-be corruptors.

Komnas HAM, under the able leadership of Ifdhal Kasim, is also worthy of praise. While some officials at the Foreign Ministry lack the courage to admit torture is still practiced by our security services, Komnas HAM courageously endorsed a recent report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture in Indonesia and called on the government to improve human rights.

The list of courageous persons and groups is certainly longer than this. Kontras, ICW and Komnas HAM are only three obvious examples. Many other individuals and groups are genuinely committed to fighting injustice. Their work demonstrates that, while standing up to injustice at the regional and global level is important, fighting the same problems in our own back yard is nobler.

Finally, we all should learn that admitting to and correcting our own failings is the highest form of courage.

[The writer is deputy executive director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.]