William Tuchrello

Peeling Indonesia

VIVAnews - From history, politics, education, the press, to culture, William Tuchrello, US Library of Congress Field Director for Southeast Asia gave us a perspective of a foreigner who has been in Indonesia for 11 years.

“The longer I’m here the less I understand,” said Tuchrello about the direction of Indonesia. Perhaps he described it best when he used an onion as an analogy: there is layer after layer that you have to peel. “After years of being in Indonesia, the more you peel, the more watery your eyes get,” said Tuchrello.

During a courtesy visit to VIVAnews office on the day its beta version was launched, in early October 2008, Tuchrello shared his perspective on various issues concerning Indonesia.

POLITICS

Out of all the democratic countries, the U.S. understands the Indonesian Congress the least. Being the third largest democracy and the fourth largest country, Indonesia is like “the 500-pound gorilla in the corner,” Tuchrello said. The executive relation is good, but Indonesia also needs a good legislative branch, i.e. its House of Representatives (DPR). “It’s a learning experience,” he said. “DPR is granted great power by the Constitution; it’s only a matter of how they use it,” he continued.

None of the political theories seem to fit when it comes to Indonesia. The country has undergone much more progress for a country that has only been independent since 1945, and has only broken away from Soeharto’s iron fist since 1998. However, there is much more progress in the political system compared to Thailand, who has tried since the 1930’s.

EDUCATION

When talking about the level of education in Indonesia, Tuchrello, aware of its increase in world rankings, especially that of University of Indonesia (UI) and Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), acknowledged that indeed Indonesia’s educational system is “more progressive.” However, the problem that Indonesia would face is “how to cope with higher educated society.”

LABOR

Currently residing in Menteng, despite the fact that he has lived in Indonesia for 11 years, Tuchrello does not take a cab or even public transportation to work. He walks to his office at the U.S. Embassy. During one of his walks, he noticed a sweeping lady. It’s not the fact that the woman was sweeping the dirty streets of Jakarta that caught his attention. It was the fact that with a broom in one hand, she was text-messaging on her cell phone with the other.  Seeing that phenomenon, Tuchrello links it to another issue that he thinks Indonesia needs to address: “How do you harness human labor?” Given the fact the Indonesia lies in the tropics, Tuchrello believes that solar technology is one of the answers.

ENVIRONMENT

Tuchrello also gave a brief insight to the Indonesian environmental condition. Indonesia has to remember that the “environmental impact is not just on Indonesia, but also everyone else.” Indonesia is the third largest polluter-producer of CO2, after the United States and China.

PRESS AND PUBLICITY

According to Tuchrello, Indonesia has one of the freest press in the world. The progress is amazing, especially with the 2002 laws on the press. There is now “a lot more transparency,” he said. However, Indonesia “does not do a good job in presenting itself,” he said. The biggest challenge for Indonesia is: “How do you project yourself to the outside?” For example, people often think that Bali is not a part of Indonesia. Instead of and aside from promoting Bali, there are other islands other than Bali that deserves attention. There should be an international awareness of Indonesia’s biodiversity.

JAVANESE

With regard to cultural observation, Tuchrello refers to a fact that perhaps even most Indonesians are not aware about, i.e. that there are 90 to 120 million speakers of Javanese. However, he noted, “there is very little in Javanese literature.” Meanwhile, the Javanese culture itself in “a subtle way” continues to be influential. Tuchrello is currently learning the Javanese language.

IDENTITY

Another issue for consideration is the sense of identity. An archipelagic country that has more than 400 dialects, people need a sense of “What does it mean to be Indonesian?” Looking back at the Sumpah Pemuda, early nationalists of Indonesia had great vision about the country. However, it seems that the Indonesian government, unlike the Thai efforts in 1970’s, is not doing much about creating a sense of identity.

Tuchrello read a book by famed Indonesian writer and poet, Taufiq Ismail, 15 years ago. The main theme that stood out for him was Ismail’s notion of how Indonesia can be more Muslim without heading in the direction of Middle East, and at the same time how Indonesia can become more modernized without becoming the West. A decade after reformation, the answer to this question is still unanswered, as Indonesia is still evolving. A decade from now? “No clue.”


Politics and societal problems aside, Tuchrello told VIVAnews that “living in Indonesia is fun.” The only complaint he has is the traffic in Jakarta.


* William Tuchrello is currently Field Director for Southeast Asia for the US Library of Congress. He is completing an MA thesis in Theology on the impact on of Christian ethnics and Islamic fiqh on US foreign policy in Indonesia in 2008. He can speak Indonesian-Malay, Thai-Lao, Arabic, Khmer, French, Greek, Sankrit and is currently studying Javanese. In 1979 he was a Senior Fulbright Lecturer at Hasanuddin University, Indonesia. He has had 2 years of personal and academic observation of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR).

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