A tragic year under Abdurrahman Wahid's rule<\/p>\n
Political analyst J. Soedjati Djiwandono was one of those who
\nrejoiced at the new presidential leadership last October, but who
\nnow feels compelled to give a brutally honest review of the
\npresidency.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Sukarno began to lose his credibility
\nand authority in the eyes of his people after 20 years of his
\npresidency, primarily because of his stubborn defense of the
\nIndonesian Communist Party (PKI).<\/p>\n
President Soeharto had to resign for basically failing to
\nunderstand the mood and aspirations of his people after more than
\nthree decades of his rule.<\/p>\n
Those were tragic moments for the nation, when a change of
\nleadership was accompanied by a sudden burst of violence, before
\nor after, at the cost of unaccountable loss of human lives. One
\nmight have thought then that the experience of the nation could
\nnever be worse.<\/p>\n
I have begun to wonder, however, if this is not the most
\ntragic phase of the life of this nation called Indonesia, if even
\nthe identity of the nation itself, the name \"Indonesia\", is
\nquestionable. A young man once asked me a question I have never
\nbeen able, or had the courage, to answer: \"Is it possible, that
\n'Indonesia' could soon be just a great name in history, just as
\nwe remember -- or so we have been told -- the great empires of
\nMajapahit and Sriwijaya in centuries past?\"<\/p>\n
I shudder at the thought that the question may get a proper
\nanswer in the not too distant future. The thought that the name
\n\"Indonesia \" is in real danger of just fading away has daunted
\nand haunted the first year of Abdurrahman Wahid's presidency.<\/p>\n
Indeed, as a nation, Indonesia has been through dark days for
\nlonger than I can remember. This time around, however, there does
\nnot seem to be even a dim light at the end of the tunnel. What
\ncould be worse than a moment, when a great nation cannot even
\nthink of having a leader?<\/p>\n
That's the tragedy of this nation, ironically, just over a
\nyear of the reign of allegedly the most democratically elected
\npresident and vice president -- that is, at least by Indonesian
\nstandards set by a fundamentally defective and undemocratic
\nconstitution. And that is also the tragedy of President
\nAbdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid.<\/p>\n
I remember hailing the election of Gus Dur and Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri as the best the nation could ever be blessed with
\nin moral terms; the best for national unity; the best to avert
\nfurther violence and to avoid what then looked like the imminent
\nthreat of a civil war.<\/p>\n
What tragic contradictions we are witnessing now, however,
\njust over the short span of a year: violence has not subsided, if
\nnot escalated; the nation is in greater danger of disintegrating,
\nand thus national unity is ever more remote; bickering among
\npoliticians has continued unabated, and so has the tug-of-war
\nbetween the presidency and the legislatures, consisting of
\nsupposedly representatives of the people; corruption and money
\npolitics have seemingly taken on an unashamedly crude and less
\nsophisticated form, no longer in the more subtle deals under the
\ntable but in the style of cash and carry. And for the common
\npeople? Life is harder, more painful, ever more uncertain, and
\nmore scary.<\/p>\n
The President's loss of sight did not seem to matter much at
\nthe beginning. \"He may be blind, but he sees more than many,\" one
\nwriter said about President Gus Dur. Now it seems to be his main
\nhandicap. How does he judge people, their characters and their
\nperformance? After all, he cannot always rely on those he knows
\nor used to know well.<\/p>\n
Indeed, his presence, remarks and statements among minority
\ngroups -- be it in racial, ethnic or religious terms -- still
\ncreate a cool, refreshing and assuring atmosphere. But his
\nremarks and statements on some other no less important aspects
\nare often shockingly contradictory, confusing, inconsistent and
\nfrighteningly enigmatic.<\/p>\n
The most tragic of all, what used to be the main strength of
\nthe President, his moral integrity, and thus the basis of his
\ncredibility and authority, seems to have deteriorated. His
\nstrength has turned into his vulnerability.<\/p>\n
He also seems to be increasingly obstinate, self-opinionated
\nand over-confident. One can only wonder, who has the ears of the
\nblind President?<\/p>\n
This is the tragedy the nation is now facing: We have no
\nalternative. But can we continue to support him, not only because
\nof his deterioration -- the President is perhaps seriously sick,
\nquite apart from his blindness with all its implications --
\nparticularly in the light of the continued and single-minded
\nattacks by his political opponents with the single aim: to unseat
\nhim.<\/p>\n
If the President is genuinely concerned with the interests of
\nthe nation as a whole rather than over his possible reelection
\nfor a second term, and if he should honestly feel unable or
\nincapable of completing his term, he should resign at his own
\nfree will. He would be a proven grand statesman.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, he is likely to be increasingly vulnerable to
\nefforts to ease him out of office, while it seems doubtful if his
\nstaunch and blind supporters would be ready to accept such a
\ndefeat. What would ensue would be a foregone conclusion: further
\nsocial conflicts, or even a civil war.<\/p>\n
Indeed, given Gus Dur's resignation, we would still be faced
\nwith a no less complex question. I would not dare to attempt to
\nanswer the question right now, whether or not Vice President
\nMegawati would be ready and well equipped to take over. That
\nwould require a separate and probably lengthy analysis or
\nspeculation. It would be no less complicated.<\/p>\n
This review may sound brutal. But truth is often bitter. As
\nsuch, it hurts, and it hurts mercilessly. Whatever the case may
\nbe, the cost would be the continued suffering of the majority of
\nthe people. Would the President and the rest of the politicians
\never think of that?<\/p>",
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