Abdurrahman: Achievements and blunders<\/p>\n
Thousands of people gathered outside the Merdeka Palace on
\nThursday to show their support for former president Abdurrahman
\nWahid. Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis looks at both sides of the
\npopular leader.<\/p>\n
Question: Abdurrahman Wahid, while addressing his supporters
\non Thursday, vowed to continue struggling for democracy. Will he
\nbe able to do so?<\/p>\n
Answer: Gus Dur is an ordinary person who had many
\nachievements and made many blunders as president. His last
\nmistake was the issuance of the decree.... He should have been
\naware that though he had... the right to interpret what
\nsituations were a threat to the nation, he could not issue such a
\ndecree which was not in line with the constitutional process. He
\nmade a big mistake in the last minutes of his presidency...
\npeople won't forget that he acted against democracy....<\/p>\n
Will Gus Dur survive as a politician?<\/p>\n
Gus Dur is known as a politician and a respected religious
\nleader of certain values -- values of simplicity, honesty and so
\non... Most do not regard him as a pure politician.<\/p>\n
Q: Your comments on his presidency?<\/p>\n
A: In a flashback over about 20 months, from his election as
\npresident in 1999, he made significant steps regarding military-
\ncivilian relations... he succeeded in bringing back civil
\nsupremacy. The military was still playing a role (in politics) in
\nsome aspects, but what Gus Dur did was a great achievement.<\/p>\n
We also saw greater social pluralism. Gus Dur paid a great
\ndeal of attention to the diverse ethnic groups, cultures,
\ndialects, religions and so on -- he is a liberal democrat. He is
\nalso a humanist who showed his concern for human rights in East
\nTimor, though he was not so firm in Papua and Aceh.<\/p>\n
At least he tried to provide space for local (representatives)
\nto hold dialogs with the government.<\/p>\n
He also dissolved the ministry of social affairs. The ministry
\ndealt mostly with natural disasters, poverty and social problems
\nsuch as gambling; he wanted society to deal with the problems.<\/p>\n
Q: Could you elaborate more on the civil-military relationship?<\/p>\n
A: The doctrine of the dual function of the military clearly
\nstated the military functions as the \"stabilizer and dynamist\" in
\npolitics, and gives the military the right to participate in
\npolitics. So (under former president Soeharto) the military was
\nvery dominant in the Cabinet, local administrations and other
\nstate institutions. The minister of justice and the attorney
\ngeneral, many provincial governors and ambassadors were from the
\nmilitary...<\/p>\n
Gus Dur changed this around, saying in effect that the
\nmilitary should follow civilians as the leaders of the nation. I
\nthink what happened in East Timor was a turning point, that the
\nmilitary lost its credibility.<\/p>\n
Q: There was no press censorship under Gus Dur, but he frequently
\naccused the press of misquoting him. Your comment?<\/p>\n
A: Soeharto was fond of calling people in the media, chief
\neditors, and then he canceled publication permits. Gus Dur only
\ncriticized the media for \"rephrasing\" his statements. That's his
\npolitical style... he does not want to be condemned.<\/p>\n
This was the consequence of him using the media too much. But
\nnot all his statements (from Gus Dur or his spokesmen) were
\nuseful for the media. I don't think the nation has ever had a
\npresident with four spokesmen.<\/p>\n
They gave statements almost every day, while Gus Dur himself
\nmade statements after almost every Friday prayers.<\/p>\n
Q: Did Gus Dur make significant progress in fighting corruption?<\/p>\n
A: There have been reports (from the Supreme Audit Agency) that
\ncorruption has not ended at, for example, the central bank and
\nthe State Secretariat. There has not been any progress in
\nstopping corruption.<\/p>\n
Q: What about his steps for economic recovery?<\/p>\n
A: He wasn't a president who paid much attention to the
\neconomy... He was concerned for the poor but he did not have a
\ngood, comprehensive understanding of recovery. And he received
\nmuch misleading information from his inner circle. I think he was
\nthe victim of misleading information.<\/p>\n
In addition to political problems, the frequent reshuffling of
\nthe Cabinet and policy changes also stalled the economic
\nrecovery.<\/p>\n
Q: What about his measures in human rights and legal supremacy?<\/p>\n
A: Both were his weaknesses. Remember that he met with Tommy
\n(Soeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra) about the Bulog scandal. He
\nalso ordered a halt to the legal action against three
\nbusinessmen. By doing so, whether he was aware of it or not, Gus
\nDur sacrificed legal supremacy.<\/p>\n
Once Gus Dur made a radical statement saying he wanted to
\n\"import\" judges to replace local judges. This statement angered
\nnationalists, but others were cheered because they were
\nfrustrated by corruption (in the judiciary). But people lost
\ntheir trust when he ignored legal supremacy ....<\/p>\n
In human rights affairs, he showed a firm stand in the case of
\nEast Timor and (the shooting of students) in the Trisakti and
\nSemanggi cases. But he did not pay much attention to Aceh, Maluku
\nand Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Q: Your opinion of President Megawati Soekarnoputri?<\/p>\n
A: People should give her a chance. She has the leadership and
\nthe will to bring about economic recovery, the eradication of
\ncorruption and legal supremacy. She will face continuous scrutiny
\nfrom the public. So whenever she displays a lack of seriousness
\nshe will instantly be criticized. (I. Christianto)<\/p>",
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