Joko Widodo Indo in Asia

The word “Indic” derives from the word “Indo,” which refers to the non-Dravidian settlers of India by the Indus River, appropriately named “Indo-Aryan.” The Dutch thought Java and Sumatra were “Indo in Asia,” actually more Tamil/Malayalam of South India and Sri Lanka than those identified with the Indus Valley civilization.

Indonesia declared Joko Widodo as its new president, one whose name can easily capture an audience at Comedy Central but exemplifies a change in the political coloration of the most populous and predominantly Muslim nation in the world.

My familiarity with Indonesia is very limited. Southeast Asian students after WWII were schooled in the meta-brain of Europe, so I could describe how waltzing in Vienna is conducted with the requisite music, move and stance, but would not know how to orchestrate nor even describe a shadow puppet show in Sulawesi, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, Halmahera and the numerous Kepulauan of Indonesia!

Joko is a “commoner” who was not the candidate of the powers-that-be. His closest opponent, a former military general named Sobianto, is a son-in-law of the late President Suharto. Heretofore, membership in the power circle followed the hereditary path of hierarchy. Sobianto represented the majority coalition while Joko hailed from the minority. In a recent article about the CNMI Legislature, it was revealed that nine families are a constant in the legislative body since its inception.

The same is said of Malaysia and Indonesia. Indonesia is the third largest market for Lamborghini and their “bag” ladies are socialites in clubs with fashionable and expensive Gucci who raise funds for poor children on the side. In the Philippines, a majority of the members of the 1935 Commonwealth legislature have kin and/or progenitors occupying seats at the current Batasan.

The same is no less true in China, though we saw a break in that tradition when the powerful scion of one of the eight legendary generals of the People’s Revolution, married to an equally pedigreed wife, fell from grace. The woman was charged with the murder of a British businessman, and the man, for obstruction of justice and abuse of power. Retired former head of national security is currently under criminal indictment.

The RC Bishopric See succession handed down through hereditary lines was cut short by the celibacy doctrine. No longer were bishops allowed to relinquish their titles as princes of the Church to their offspring. To be sure, the primacy of the seat of Peter in Rome played a role in the decision but celibacy was a bureaucratic measure before it became a sexual norm.

Today’s politics is subservient to commercial ethos where financial numbers determine value. Real estate China provides the option of constructing a dwelling fully equipped. But to appear low in price, residents are sold a unit that is barely the skeleton of a dwelling place, still needing to connect the electrical and plumbing systems, procure ceiling and wall fixtures, lay out flooring and heating (particularly in Dong Bei where half of the year is virtually winter), assemble doors and windows, and provide furnishings and appliances.

The overriding consideration is not whether workers are fairly compensated for their labor, nor of the quality control on materials and equipment bought given the wide spectrum of prices among vendors in the neighborhood or in the Internet. The element of time is a factor, for unlike the Saipan weather of wet and dry on essentially constant temperature spectrum, Manchuria slows down manual labor with the cold, thus efficiency and speed is of the essence. The only emotive therapy of an owner is the notion that ze managed to save money on construction!

Democratic revolutions in our time adhere to the rule of the majority, protecting minority rights. A predominantly Muslim country, Indonesia’s fundamentalist members remain a minority though their agitation to apply Sharia law in the affairs of the state commands a wide audience.

Bandung and Joko Widodo have a job to do to maintain clarity on the diversity of its population, the need to have structures to vent emotions without collapsing the stage or ending in a brawl like Thailand, or worse, a civil war, and a broad discussion of varied ideological perspectives without pontificating on what is right or wrong.

But it is in the behavioral choices represented by enacting laws that executives need to paddle the communal barangay (boat, used as a symbol of community) with vigor, making sure the minority understands, should they not want to join, that they are welcome to ride in the boat, and would be more appreciated if they did not paddle in the opposite direction. They either navigate together, or sink together. Cost is not the main consideration. Collaboration is.

Maintenance of balance, not a parliament of the street to vent despair over the deeds of others, is a task Indo in Asia will attempt to do in the next five years, for the sake of democratic attempts around the world.