The Beja Order

The Beja Order, which is still disorganized today, should be interpreted as a continuous process towards a proper democratic culture; one that always aims to honor humanity and creates warm spaces of tolerance.

Every May, when people ask about the supposedly positive outcomes of the reform, various answers will emerge ranging from normative, pessimistic, overlapping complexity and acrobatic contortions of the truth, to answers full of irony and humor.

Some say the 1998 Reform was like the fate of a former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret.) Gatot Nurmantyo, nicknamed Gagal Total, meaning a complete failure. Some say it resembled a person running in place, while others say it was a change of players but the story remained the same. The players may have changed but their character remained the same: equally corrupt and greedy. The country was still controlled by an oligarchic network, so anyone who wanted to reap the benefits and wealth of this nation must raise the shield of corruption, collusion and nepotism. People often liken Indonesia to a donkey that enjoys falling into the same hole.