Patience is thin, and memory short. Year in and year out, these factors have served very well for those who resist any attempts at change since Soeharto quit the presidency eight years ago on May 21.
Many an Indonesian has expressed frustration that life has not been getting any easier since 1998. As despair sets in, along with references to "the good old days," it has been easy to forget the three minimum demands for reform raised by demonstrating students back then: an end to authoritarianism, corruption and the abuse of human rights.
Without all three, Indonesia would be a much more beautiful place to live. Of course this dream is still far away, as those coming into power pounce on every chance to seize anything of value while they can – the downside of what has otherwise been progress in terms of weakening the grip of centralized power.
"Notoriously resistant" was how a scholar once described corrupt behavior in the public sector.
We do have hopeful signs, now that the corruption law can and has been used to convict greedy heads of state-owned firms who are charged with corruption, such as in the cases of the social security fund and state electricity companies.
Our patience will no doubt be further tested as we find out whether the convictions have a major impact on the lower ranks of the public sector, the "mission impossible" zone of the corruption battle.
"Notoriously resistant" also aptly describes the habitual human rights abusers among us. They mock all of those who can only raise a cry of protest, to the point of the issue often being rendered irrelevant, an unnecessary stumbling block on the way to progress. The result: a dauntingly long list of unresolved abuses in which few have been made accountable.
With such a difficult legacy so far from any form of closure, how should one respond to the appeals for forgiveness made by the family of ailing former president Soeharto? "As a normal human being pak Soeharto has his strengths and weaknesses," said daughter Siti Hediyati during a weekend visit to refugees from Mount Merapi. Therefore, she added, "for the 30 years that he led this nation, we apologize for anything that might not have been carried out well and for any shortcomings that he might have had."
The appeal was more or less a repeat of her father's contrite words on May 21, 1998: "I apologize for my mistakes and shortcomings, and I hope that Indonesia will remain strong," he uttered in his usual flat tone.
It is, however, too similar to the caveat the speaker gives at the end of the average seminar: "We beg your pardon for any unintendetional shortcomings in the way this event was organized."
But neither should one expect Siti to plead her father's case with a long list of his misdemeanors in hand: imbuing the country with a culture of corruption; overlooking, or perhaps being in some way responsible for rights abuses; allowing political henchmen to build up power in exchange for their loyalty, etc.
The only legal case against Soeharto is on charges of embezzling some US$415 million and Rp 1.3 trillion (about $150 million) in public money. How magnanimous of him and of his family to ask for forgiveness; after all, even these charges have been dropped!
What now? Soeharto has reportedly smiled with gratitude from his sickbed on hearing that the case against him will be dropped. Discounting stubborn activists, people may shrug and concede what may be a dying request for forgiveness, from a man who also managed to lift millions out of poverty and win praise for the country's strong economic growth.
We've argued here before that regardless of the legal limbo, our highest representative body, the People's Consultative Assembly, needs to issue a decree defining Soeharto's place in this nation's history – be he evil or benevolent.
Regardless of what the government's response may be, it would serve the need to recognize one source of our ills. We could then move on to the next eight, ten or 50 years. For we need Davids on all fronts to face up to the Goliaths – the persistent mindsets of the generations that lived under the New Order regime. The mindsets and habits which allow corruption, ignore human rights and favor an authoritarian hand in government, are the Goliaths that will stick with us if a quick fix is all we seek.
This is not to say that the need for patience means tolerating a plodding pace of reform. A public opinion poll conducted between 1998 and 2006, released last week by the Indonesian Research Institute (LSI), showed that while a fairly high 72 percent of 1,400 respondents now say they believe in democracy over other political systems, their anger over the economy threatens to erode this trust.
In 1999, 13 percent of respondents supported the military's role in politics, which has gradually increased to a much higher 36 percent today.
People weary of price hikes and the squabbling among the elite may indeed have short memories of the impact of overt military power in this country. The wise and powerful among us might take a hint from those figures, and use the trust of that 72 percent to the best possible effect.