Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Su-yanto said
that the 2012 Failed State Index (FSI), which put Indonesia on the threshold of
being a failed state, had painted an inaccurate picture of the
country.
“Indonesia is a state that runs very well, from the central to
local levels. We have recorded a remarkable 6.5 percent of economic growth and
have more than US$115 billion in foreign exchange reserves. What kind of
indicators did they use to determine a failed state?” Djoko told The Jakarta
Post on Wednesday.
Djoko was commenting on the 2012 FSI compiled by
Washington-based non-profit organization Fund for Peace.
The study put
Indonesia in 63rd place out of 178 countries worldwide, down one position from
last year’s 64th position.
In 2010, Indonesia was ranked
61st.
Indonesia has shown slight improvements in its score over the last
two years. In 2012, Indonesia got 80.6 points, lower than 2011’s 81.6 and 2010’s
83.1.
A high score indicates high pressure on the state, which also
translates into a higher risk of instability, according to a statement released
on the Fund for Peace’s website
fundforpeace.org.
The 2012 FSI ranked
178 countries using 12 social, economic and political indicators of pressure on
the state, along with over 100 sub-indicators.
These include issues such
as uneven development, state legitimacy, group grievances, and human rights.
Each indicator is rated on a scale of 1-10, based on the analysis of
millions of publicly available documents, other quantitative data, and
assessments by analysts, the organization said.
The FSI groups states
with points higher than 90 as “alert”; between 60 and 90 as “warning”; 30-60
“moderate”; and below 30 as “sustainable”.
There were 91 countries in the
“warning” zone, including Indonesia.
The release of this year’s FSI came
amid a wave of violence in Papua.
Reports said that at least 18 people
were killed in Papua and West Papua in the past few months, with the government
continuing to blame “separatists” for the numerous shootings of civilians in the
region.
The country has also seen escalating violence against religious
minorities in the country.
Political analyst Yudi Latief said that all
indicators could point to the fact that Indonesia was indeed a failed state.
“The failure to provide decent public facilities, the rampant political
corruption, and the absence of social services, are part of the indicators of a
failed state. Frankly, Indonesia has those too,” he said.
Djoko denounced
those who abused the survey result to “attack” the government.
“Look at
our democratic life, such as press freedom. Even though there are shortcomings,
we are supposed to be grateful for what we have today. Don’t be cynical, and
let’s join together help build this nation,” the minister said.
Yopie
Hidayat, the spokesman for Vice President Boediono, shared Djoko’s opinion.
“I, as a person who has been working for the government, think that we
have done our best in bringing this country toward a better condition,” he
said.
Yopie said the report should be considered as an impetus for
everybody to work to improve the nation.
“The survey was conducted by a
foreign institution, we can’t deny this. We are not running together with other
nations; we are competing with other countries,” Yopie added.
The 2012
FSI, which was the eighth edition of the annual study, ranked Somalia as number
one for a fifth consecutive year, citing widespread lawlessness, ineffective
government, terrorism, insurgency, crime, and well-publicized pirate attacks
against foreign vessels.
Finland remained the most stable, with its
Scandinavian neighbors Sweden and Denmark rounding out the best three rankings.
All three nations benefit from strong social and economic indicators, paired
with excellent provision of public services and respect for human rights and the
rule of law.