The 2001 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership

Your Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Philippines, Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

First, I would like to thank the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation which has given me this award. Since this tradition began, I am the seventeenth person from Indonesia who has accepted this award.

All the democratic and labor movements in Indonesia are happy too, because I dedicate this award to them with hopes for building the new way to break militarism, and defining the way for economic and political problem-solving for people in third world countries.

This is a very prestigious award. I consider it not an award for myself but for generating international attention toward the role of labor and the democratic movement in creating change in Indonesia. This is not apart from every other obstacle I've been through. From living with laborers in rural areas, friends in the democratic struggle, and prisoners for three years, these things taught me a lot.

Ironically, even if there was attention from the international community the labor movement does not have a proper place in Indonesia. Coinciding with democratic demand, democratic space started to open but it has not changed society's point of view towards the working class. People consider the labor movement as a frightened, uneducated movement which only produces social unrest.

This unrest is directed towards the conditions of workers which get worse day by day, exploited by international capitalism. International capitalists only give profits to multinational companies, with government support.

Economic pressures and political changes have motivated the labor movement to move forward step by step. In the beginning people do not recognize alternative organizations but now they do. This condition convinces us that struggle is the right choice.

Honorable audience, choosing Emergent Leadership for a new category is a proper thing. The youth holds the future in their hands. The essence of this category is to remind young people that they have a responsibility to liberate the people from poverty and injustice. Leadership is a process of maturity and should enable people to understand social problems in society.

Political process in Indonesia in the last decade has created young leaders who have very good spirit and integrity. But they have not accepted opportunities to involve people in decision making. Until today, traditional leadership based on culture, religion and family background is still the dominant leadership in Asian countries. We know that it has weaknesses. But in the democratic movement against multinational corporations and international finance agencies, we have seen it has resulted to new blood for continuing the democratic struggle all over the world. That is the youth; this will be the blood for a new generation, and a new civilization without exploitation. For these reasons, we have to build it hand in hand.

Emergent Leadership is relevant and brilliant; this is a way for the Magsaysay Award to bridge the sunset of traditional politics to the rising sun of the new leaders, and honor leaders of the future. The Magsaysay Award dares to challenge the old pattern of Asian leadership.

I myself have high hopes on this Magsaysay Award to us. I wish this award will motivate the youth to be leaders of the future, and we will see prosperity, justice, and new democratic order based on people's participation. For all of us here, we have to give more opportunities for them to evaluate their work, create new approaches for democratic movements, based on prosperity and justice for all. This is the greatest accomplishment I can contribute to democratic movement and social freedom.

Thank you.