•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

When you look at the legal aspects behind Aceh’s recently passed local bylaw on the stoning to death of adulterers, you have to admit that there is probably little the national government can do to reverse it. After all, Aceh enjoys special autonomy, which includes the local government’s right to pass regulations in line with Islamic law. If politicians believe that Aceh has gone too far and a line should be drawn in the sand, then Jakarta will either have to change the autonomy law or accept the implementation of Shariah.

Either way, I would suggest the president make an example of Aceh and use his stature as leader of the country to ensure that politicians who would impose Shariah in Aceh and elsewhere are subject to the same moral standards as their constituents. As the famous saying goes, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

I would also recommend that Yudhoyono use the presidential pulpit to reframe the entire debate over Shariah so that it is understandable to the average Indonesian. As it stands now, only lawyers and religious scholars seem to participate in discussions over whether or not Shariah should be implemented. For such a critical issue, it seems to me that Yudhoyono owes it to the nation to widen the debate to include the man and woman in the street.

First, the president should put the debate over Shariah in terms that will hit home for every legislator in the country. Toward that end, he should argue that as it stands today, the Shariah bylaws in Aceh are incomplete.

As everybody knows, theft under traditional Shariah is punishable by cutting off the hand of the offender.

Corruption by politicians is a form of theft of the most egregious kind since it involves stealing money from the public.

Hence, if Aceh’s politicians want to ensure good moral behavior, should they not pass another Shariah bylaw on stealing? If adulterers can be stoned to death and gamblers given the cane, then it would only be fair that Acehnese politicians found stealing from the public coffers should have a hand removed.

Of course, the same lawmakers in favor of stoning might object to such a demand coming from the president and once again defend fervently their rights under special autonomy. So be it. But at least Yudhoyono should open up this argument for public debate and let Aceh’s politicians explain to their constituents why they think stealing is not something that should be punishable under their own special interpretation of Shariah.

Next, I would suggest that Yudhoyono bring up the issue of the drug trade in Aceh. As most Indonesians know, Aceh is the center of marijuana cultivation in the country. It is not a closely held secret that the transporting of the illegal drug out of Aceh and throughout the archipelago is only made possible through the collusion of rogue elements inside the security forces and some Acehnese government officials.

Here, the president should make a couple of points to Aceh’s holier-than-thou legislators. If the Acehnese are, in fact, so concerned about and committed toward enforcing exemplary moral behavior, the national government should insist on assisting local authorities in furthering their cause by putting together a special task force to eradicate the illegal drug trade in the province.

After all, special autonomy and special needs should be respected by Jakarta through special efforts.

To make a real example of drug dealers for the benefit of Aceh’s pious officials, Yudhoyono should tell locals that he will ensure that parties found guilty of involvement in the trade, even if they are members of the local government, will be given the maximum punishment allowable — execution.

If Aceh’s lawmakers believe Shariah should be invoked for the consumption of alcohol, is there any arguing against cooperating with national law enforcement officials to quash a vice as despicable as drugs?

Sound radical? Imagine how the entire debate about controversial issues such as Shariah would change if Yudhoyono were to demand that politicians be held to the same moral standards as they ask of their constituents.

Smoke and mirrors removed, Indonesians would be spared the legal arguments and technicalities that politicians love to hide behind when public dissent rears its ugly head. No longer would we have to listen to inane arguments by legislators that backward and illiberal laws are, in fact, not such a big deal as seen from their lofty heights.

Endless debates over constitutional law within elite circles — the substance of which is about as comprehensible as ancient Greek to the vast majority of Indonesians — would fall by the wayside.

Religious figures should also be asked to stop framing the debate over Shariah by spewing forth Arabic terminology mixed with quotations of ancient scriptures and interpretations dating back several millennia. For sure, these are topics that only a very small percentage of Indonesians are prepared to comprehend.

Rather than getting caught up in the arcane language of legalities and Islamic scholarship, Yudhoyono should cut to the chase and talk about the heart of the matter. The real bottom line is this: Nothing could be more absurd in public life than having amoral people in positions of power advocating harsh punishment for others accused of immoral behavior.

Once the debate is finished, if politicians in Aceh and elsewhere still feel they are entitled to support such laws, then there is little the common citizen can do to stop them. At the same time, Indonesians should demand that those same hands that signal support for morality laws should be put at risk should they dare steal from the state’s coffers.

James Van Zorge is a partner in Van Zorge, Heffernan & Associates, a business strategy and government relations consulting firm based in Jakarta. He can be reached at vanheff@gmail.com.