For the upcoming Cabinet, offense is the best defense

SBY PRESIDENCY.

The first president of a democratic nation once said: "Not less difficult is to make them believe, that offensive operations oftentimes are the surest, if not in some cases the only means of defense." (George Washington, 1799).

Three hundred years later, Indonesia must exercise that option. The first opportunity was missed in 1998. Following the resignation of President Soeharto, strong defensive play was put into place by surprising common action between civil society and President BJ Habibie. Political rights were restored as political prisoners were released. The media was set free after strong public pressure and concurrence of Information Minister Lt. Gen. Yunus Yosfiah. These two reforms were strong symbolic moves to ensure the defense of an emerging democracy.

It was a strong beginning but the opportunity for further reform was squandered because momentum was lost. Demands for Soeharto's trial and the dissolution of the Golkar Party seemed irreconcilable, yet now Soeharto's son, Tommy Soeharto, is welcomed by Golkar leaders as a candidate for the chairmanship. Subsequently President Abdurrahman Wahid broke through decades of intolerance by affirmation of the nation's pluralistic and democratic idealism. Although he was removed from office by the political opposition in July 2001, the gains in our society remain his legacy. Clearly offense proved to be the best defense.

Before the 2009 presidential elections, Indonesia came close to losing the battle against our dark past. The SBY-Boediono candidacy was the only one promising a path forward, away from the corruption and oppression of the past. It is a big relief for the nation that voters overwhelmingly chose the one sensible candidate.

SBY has proven to have done a good job in his first term. However, it must be noted that many have been disappointed at compromises that were made because of political considerations. With a fresh mandate and a better team, we may expect a second chance for SBY to leave a lasting legacy.

There remain many more important areas where reform has to be revived and accelerated. A long agenda awaits in areas of corruption, human rights abuse and legal reform. Bureaucratic reforms have been neglected and good governance has remained a problem to this very day. SBY promised to meet these expectations in last night's acceptance speech. In fact, the president-elect promised that the next five years would be the best years of our nation's history, and we have to believe that if we believe in ourselves.

The key is in using offense as the best defense. The key is in appointing a new cabinet comprised of people with vision, competence and, most importantly, credibility. Without public support, good intentions cannot generate effective programs.

Cabinet ministers must have support not only from political parties but from the public at large, who make up the 60 percent plus of support for the new President. They must be individuals widely known as persons of high integrity and credibility. It would be a good idea for polling organizations to conduct surveys in this context.

To turn the defensive posture of yesterday into a strong offense for 2009-2014, the Cabinet must capitalize on proven strengths (i.e. management of the economy) and respond to the world's challenges, not just our domestic homework. The economy is the foundation, welfare programs in health, education and employment will be the cornerstone of progress, and international engagement will pull the nation forward.

A strong foreign policy is important not just for the national ego but as a necessary means of survival. In a dynamic world, Indonesia must lead or be led. We are too large a nation and too diverse a population to depend on a defensive posture. It is wasteful to allow our people to complain about neighboring countries, and to suspect superpowers of conspiracy against Indonesia. International relations is a subject to be regarded positively, if at all.

It is naive to be jealously protective of our natural resources because Indonesia's true wealth is not in natural resources; it is in our people who have created the world's largest democracy out of nothing; it is in the goodwill of our religious citizens who have maintained the world's largest Muslim population as an example of moderate religion; it is in our proven strength as a strong nation capable of keeping the borders intact when some had predicted Balkanization; and we have the only police force in the world who have solved every case of terrorist bombing since Sept. 11, 2001.

With these assets, it is logical Indonesia can take its place in the world's top international councils. With a professional Foreign Service in the center and special teams sharp enough to identify strategic issues and opportunities, Indonesia will become an example of how international engagement secures the nation's integrity, turning international policy into an instrument for domestic progress.

The cabinet of 2009 has every opportunity to catch up for lost time, and leave a lasting legacy for many years into our future.

The writer is a public relations consultant with InterMatrix Communications and the host of WIMAR Live, a public affairs talk show on Metro-TV.

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