On being free – Desi Anwar

January 26, 2014

Freedom Houses Freedom in the World 2014 report, which classifies a country as free, partly free and not free based on both political rights and civil liberties, lowered Indonesias status from free to partly free.

The reason for this drop of status is due to a new law restricting the activities of nongovernmental organisations.

I would add, we are partly free because we have no idea what to do with the freedom that we have.

The inability of the state to follow the Pancasila ideology is whittling at the countrys democracy and freedom, not to mention the countrys foundation.

Being the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, we pride ourselves of our brand of Islam, which is moderate.

In reality, we already have Syariah in Aceh, while more and more local governments around the country are leaning towards laws and regulations favouring the religion of the majority rather than respecting equally all the other religions as stipulated in the Pancasila ideology.

Indonesia willingly makes herself less free when she allows herself to be highjacked by a majority of people who see their fellow countrymen as less equal before the law if they are deemed not equal before the eyes of God.

Moreover, although we have achieved democracy, in that we have an elected and democratic government, there is a consensus that Indonesia, as a country, is still not free.

The word for freedom is merdeka which contains within it the spirit to fight against injustice and oppression, initially against colonial rule.

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On being free – Desi Anwar