Does the present government really understand Indonesia? Or want to? Ministers get detailed briefings from diplomats in Jakarta squirreling away in our biggest embassy, plus wisdoms from academics close to home.
So why so many big boo-boos, of which former PM Malcolm Turnbull’s trip as envoy to Bali is a standout. Not so much the visit, more the wash-up.
The media next door are fully focused on yet another national tragedy. After two earthquakes killing thousands, a new Boeing 737 Max 8 inexplicably crashed last month, killing all 189 on board. So there’s been little space to ponder the latest weird policy meanderings in Canberra.
Had Lion Air flight JT610 not plunged into the Java Sea the issue of Australia possibly following the US and shifting its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could be threatening trade and friendship with the world’s most populous Islamic nation.
Foreign affairs is the highest of political arts, no place for dilettantes, the unlettered and intemperate. Consistency is a virtue, change must be managed. It’s an area where Governments and Oppositions, even when disagreeing, tend to be less shrill.
Tongues which flex freely on domestic issues usually manage control on international matters; speaking with one voice dissuades foreign states seeking to denigrate and divide.
Though not Australia in its dealings with the world’s third largest democracy, a major market for our primary produce and future ally as China expands south and the US heads north.
The Palestine issue is to Indonesians what British royalty is to Australasians – a complex of deeply felt religious, cultural and historical emotions where the hard hats of reason offer little protection.
At first glance the idea of sending Citizen Turnbull to Bali for the Oceans Conference seemed reasonable. Mr Harborside Mansion is said to hit it off with President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo, raised on the mudbanks of Central Java’s Solo River. The guys had met several times before, so a saving on name tags.
At second glance – not so smart. This was a head-of-state show with Widodo as host. If PM Scott Morrison was unavailable either Deputy Michael McCormack or Foreign Minister Marise Payne should have been first to shake hands when disembarking in Denpasar.
Whatever the barrister’s past eminence, having a delegation leader whose titles are all qualified with ‘former’ was at best a snub to Australian ministers, and certainly an insult to the protocol-obsessed Javanese who run the Republic and must have asked: Does he carry any clout?
This is a nation where spotters work 24/7 seeking slights to sovereignty, like birdwatchers vie for first sightings, then shriek outrage and demand retaliation.
But don’t worry – this stuff-up won’t happen again. There’ll be no more papers in Mr T’s briefcase with a roo and emu on the letterhead. If he wants to wear batik on Paradise Island he’ll have to pay his own hotel bill.
His naughtiness? He told the truth to reporters at the conference: ‘There is no question, were that move (the embassy to Jerusalem) to occur, it would be met with a very negative reaction in Indonesia.’
Didn’t anyone have the courage to tell the PM that the man he toppled was probably doing a nice diplomatic dance to move the issue close to an exit? If they did, he wasn’t listening.
‘The issue of trade and other things was not really part of his (Turnbull’s) brief. My view, our government’s view about these issues are clear. That’s what we’re pursuing,’ he told commercial radio in Australia.
‘Not really’? ‘Issues are clear’? What was being pursued? The past Member for Wentworth responded with ‘a few facts’: ‘Scott Morrison asked me to discuss trade and the embassy issue in Bali and we had a call before I left to confirm his messages which I duly relayed to Mr Widodo.’
More truth telling required and all in public. This washing isn’t just dirty, it’s diseased.
A correction on Fairfax Media: ‘I invited Mr Turnbull to represent me … as head of delegation, he was briefed on appropriate responses on other issues that could be raised in any direct discussions with the President’.
Widodo must have wondered what platform the Okkers were standing on. Like trains switching tracks, policy change should be signaled ahead. Who’s the real stationmaster here? Or is there one?
If Jakarta hadn’t been focused on the air crash this chaos could have led the TV bulletins, as crippling to relationships as the 2011 Labor Government’s abrupt ban on cattle exports when allegations of cruelty were made against Indonesian abattoirs.
The potential for damage still lurks. Widodo’s opponents are led by Presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto. If they campaign on the Canberra confusion claiming Australia treats its friends with contempt and isn’t genuine about seeking a just resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the game will get worryingly weighty.
In this bleak scenario Widodo might chose to show electors he’s no push-around by teaching the Antipodean brats a lesson.
Least painful to him but hurtful to us would be delaying endorsement of the Indonesia Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; this free trade deal is supposed to be wrapped before Christmas.
In such a troubling climate, seeds of hostility could find a damp paddock ahead of Indonesians voting next April.
To conclude – a respectful request: Please, elected reps, think before speaking on issues concerning the neighbours. Is that so hard?
Duncan Graham is a freelance Australian journalist living in Indonesia.
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Duncan Graham has been a journalist for more than 40 years in print, radio and TV. He is the author of People Next Door (UWA Press). He is now writing for the English language media in Indonesia from within Indonesia.
Duncan Graham has an MPhil degree, a Walkley Award, two Human Rights Commission awards and other prizes for his radio, TV and print journalism in Australia. He lives in East Java.
Comments
One response to “DUNCAN GRAHAM. Troubled by truth telling in Indonesia”
Duncan Graham. I share your frustration. The essence of cross border diplomacy is to be a biblical ‘Good Neighbour’. That requires us both to be a close intimate neighbours constantly chanting over the fence and our people mutually criss – crossing the common borders – simply put, knowing and being familiar with each other. Australia should not have a mindset of always ‘looking over’ Indonesia to more exalted nation’s beyond but to treat Indonesia as its main concern and interest.
But how many Australians are Indonesianised like we should be if we were European adjacent neighbours.
Do most Australians know that (1) Indonesia is a multicultural nation, a diverse country composed of a huge numbers of ethnic groups (even though they look the same) with different languages, culture, religions and way of life. – and which is why it is always going to be a potential powder-keg of ethnic and religious conflict and unrest? (2) Bahasa Indonesian is not the major language which would be Javanese but was chosen as it was the common bartering trade language amongst the different ethnics. (3) the Constitution stipulates the 5 founding uniting principles – Pancasila – “pañca” (“five”) and “sīla” (“principles”):
Belief in the One and Only God
A just and civilized humanity
A unified Indonesia
Democracy led by the wisdom of the representatives of the People
Social Justice for all Indonesians
Note how democracy might not be the paramount principle but is treated on par and as quite a different component to and from god-believing (note therefore no room for atheists!), humanity, national unity and social justice. It comes down in practice to securing unity and harmony through diversity and this requires accomodation, moderation and tolerance and to being sensitive of other citizens.
(4) Indonesia only recognises the following 5 religions – Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism – but in a practical sense it is the most populated modern civilised Muslim country in the world. This is a key factor!
Therefore I second your request – Australia, before supporting the US blindly as regards Jerusalem – know and respect your neighbour!
Vincent Cheok @ https://whirlwindrambler.com/