without their leadership, peace and rapid progress in our
region in the 1970s and 1980s would have perhaps been
impossible.
As for UMNO, I have a dream that I better tell you up-front.
I am Chairman of the Golkar Party, the oldest political
party in Indonesia. The election season is coming. In April
next year, the Indonesia people are going to choose their
legislators and, in July, their new president. If my party
wins both elections, I will build a coalition of parties, and
if possible, I will persuade some of them to establish a
strong permanent coalition, using UMNO and Barisan
Nasional as our model.
I do not know whether it is possible to build such a
coalition in Indonesia. But at least I am going to give it a
try, because I think, to govern a big and plural country
like Indonesia, it is much better to do it with unification of
forces. Our newly evolving democracy needs a powerful
guardian of unity and progress, otherwise the country is
perpetually pulled in different directions.
So let us see how far my party can move forward. I hope
the people of Indonesia, like the people of Malaysia, are
supportive of such idea.
Honorable Guests
Ladies And Gentlement
the birth of modern times, there was Pax Britannica which
ruled the waves for some three hundred years, or so it was
claimed. Closer to our time in the mid 20th Century, it was
the two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union, who
were in constant competition to claim the mantle of the
world guardian.
In our time now, in the dawn of the 21st Century, some
experts speculate that it has been, or it will be, the era of
Pax Americana. With the demise of the Soviet Union, the
US is the only superpower left standing, unmatched by the
rest of nations in power scale and projections, despite the
fact that its economy has been in deep trouble in these
last several years.
There might be a grain of truth behind this speculation. But
I think we all agree that the world and its people are now
different. This is now the age of globalization. The world is
getting smaller and everything is moving faster, including
money, trade, people, news and information. The subjects
of Pax Romana and Pax Brittanica were mostly illeterate.
Now, world’s citizens are equipped with smartphones,
live much longer, move faster and futher away from their
place of birth, with much better education. With this kind
of change and transformation, old rules and habits in
governing the world have become obsolete.
The concept of superpower is no longer suffice to capture
As for the topic of our panel today, I think it is very timely. the complexity of the new reality. More so than ever
I am hopeful that Malaysia, Indonesia, and other countries before, the world can no longer be ruled simply by power
or force alone. Persuasion, reason and common sense
in our region can contribute positively to global peace.
are becoming the main currency of our new international
World harmony is not utopia. It is possible to realize this
noble dream as long as we in the community of nations are order.
able to excercise power in moderation, with a healthy dose There must be a new paradigm that fits with the changing
of common sense, and with respect toward others.
world reality. And I think, whatever this new paradigm will
be, it has to encourage more moderation, more open
Harmony, respect, and global moderation cannot be
and responsible excercise of power in the community of
achieved only with the languange of might and brute
forces. Of course, there must be an architecture of power nations.
relationship among nations (such as ASEAN, APEC,
Apart from this new paradigm, I also think that the best
NATO, WTO, G-20, the UN and others) that guarantee the and the more lasting way to secure peace is through
possibility of dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts. progress and democracy. With successful economic
We also know from history that power is constant and even development, we provide better education, better
healthcare and welfare for the people. With democracy,
necessary to guarantee peace. In the era of the Roman
we recognize their rights as individuals, their freedom and
Empire two millenia ago, lawful relationship among its
their dignity as human beings. With all these, the dream to
subjects, which included many civilized nations of the
time, followed the concept of Pax Romana, without which secure a lasting world harmony has a deeper and stronger
no peace was possible. After Rome, in the dawn and after foundation.
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