JAKARTA - Legal and political observer, Pieter C Zulkifli, said the destruction of the nation was not triggered by natural disasters, but was born from a power that lost its common sense and conscience.
According to him, the combination of stupidity, power ambition, and weak integrity can be the beginning of the collapse of a nation, including the threat to democracy and Indonesia's future.
Pieter even said that in the midst of a world that is increasingly troubled by economic crises, political polarization, and the deterioration of the quality of democracy, many countries are now facing the most serious threat from within themselves, such as the birth of leaders who are poor in capacity, but greedy for power.
"Earthquakes can knock down buildings in a matter of seconds. Floods can paralyze a city overnight. The pandemic has made the world almost stop breathing. But human history proves that great nations are often able to rise from natural disasters," said Pieter Zulkifli in his statement, Monday, May 18.
Zulkifli assessed that it was much more difficult to recover the damage born from the hands of foolish and power-hungry leaders. According to him, the greatest test for the people is not a natural disaster, but an idiot and evil elite.
"This statement is very relevant to reflect how important the quality of leadership is in the life of a nation and state. Because policies born from bad or incompetent leaders can have long-term destructive impacts on all the joints of people's lives," he said.
Pieter Zulkifli stated that stupidity in leadership is not merely a low level of education or lack of technical ability.
Political stupidity is born when a leader fails to understand the reality of the people, rejects criticism, is hostile to common sense, and is more busy maintaining an image than solving problems.
"The situation becomes much more dangerous when stupidity is combined with greed for power. At that point, the country begins to move towards regression," he said.
Pieter Zulkifli then quoted the Greek philosopher, Plato, who once reminded 'The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men', where the punishment for good people who ignore public affairs is to be led by evil people.
"The phrase feels relevant in many countries, including Indonesia, when politics is more filled with imagery than ideas, more busy managing loyalty than meritocracy," he said.
According to Pieter, power-hungry leaders are usually uncomfortable with criticism. They tend to build a circle of flatterers, maintain propaganda, and make the law a tool to protect political interests.
In such conditions, he said, democracy still seems to be alive procedurally, but in fact it is losing its soul. The systemic impact is even very real.
"Wrongheaded or corrupt policies can damage the economy, widen the gap in social inequality, and paralyze public services. A crisis of confidence also arises when leaders are negligent and lose integrity. In the end, the people become apathetic, society is divided, and the country loses moral legitimacy in the eyes of the public," he said.
He said the history of the world is filled with examples of destruction that began with bad leadership. Economic crises, civil wars, mass famines, and the collapse of state institutions almost always stem from a combination of incompetence and greed of political elites.
"Small people are the first victims. The price of basic necessities has risen, employment has shrunk, while corruption has flourished in the midst of people's suffering," he said.
Pieter Zulkifli also quoted Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, who once explained that modern famines are rare in democratic countries and have a free press. That is, he said, mass suffering is often not merely due to a lack of resources, but rather due to the failure of government governance and poor leadership quality.
"In Indonesia, the problem is felt to be more real. Corruption is still a chronic disease that gnaws at public confidence. Transparency International data shows that corruption remains a serious threat to many developing countries due to weak governance and low integrity of the political elite," he said.
"Corruption is not only about stolen state money, but also the loss of people's rights to decent education, fair health services, and a dignified future," added Pieter.
He also believes that the more worrying thing is that stupid leaders often do not realize the impact of their own policies. They feel most right, anti-critical, and consider public voices as a threat.
In such a situation, according to him, the state's decisions are not based on science or the interests of the people, but are driven by short-term interests and the obsession with maintaining power.
"More dangerous, the evil elite often use power to silence the people's voices. The apparatus is used as a tool for pressure, social assistance is politicized, and positions are used as instruments of revenge against those with different political views. People are forced to live in fear, officials are afraid to speak honestly, and many people end up choosing silence for the sake of their own safety," he said.
Pieter Zulkifli also reviewed the statement of former South African President, Nelson Mandela. The statement reads: 'A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones'.
"A nation is not measured by how it pampers its elite, but by how it treats its little people," explained Pieter.
Unfortunately, continued Pieter, in many places development is actually more friendly to the oligarchy than to farmers, fishermen, workers, or indigenous people who lose their living space. The arrogance of leaders also gives birth to acute social injustice. People close to power are prioritized, while ordinary people are complicated.
"The aid program is selective, projects are divided based on political closeness, and the law is getting sharper down but blunt up. In such a situation, the state is slowly losing the sense of justice that is the main foundation of democracy," he said.
In the midst of uncertain global economic conditions, according to Pieter, the people are actually able to survive the difficulties. But what makes the situation dangerous is when the country loses its moral direction. Moreover, when the position is given because of political closeness, not capacity. When criticism is silenced, including when the law is sharp to the little people, but blunt against the elite.
"The destruction of the nation never happened suddenly. It started slowly: from allowing lies, normalizing corruption, the death of a culture of shame, to the emergence of leaders who are poor in capacity but rich in power ambitions," said Pieter.
At a certain point, added Pieter, the public became tired, cynical about democracy, and lost hope for the future. In fact, hope is the main foundation of a nation. Therefore, Pieter Zulkifli assessed, the greatest test for the people is not a natural disaster, but a stupid and evil elite.
"Because when power loses its conscience and common sense, destruction no longer comes from outside, but grows from within the body of the nation itself," he concluded.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
