Blind obedience to Megawati<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba
\nStaff Writer
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta
\nkorpur@yahoo.com<\/p>\n
Only five of the 151 legislators (two of the original 153
\ndied) from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan) had the guts on Monday to openly defy the instruction
\nof their party boss, Megawati Soekarnoputri, to save former
\nruling party Golkar from a major political embarrassment.<\/p>\n
The party's top executives, even high-profile politicians such
\nas Roy B.B. Janis, are also too scared to argue against
\nMegawati's seemingly affectionate attitude toward outgoing
\nJakarta Governor Lt. Gen. (ret.) Sutiyoso. Party members fully
\nknow that Sutiyoso, the then Jakarta military commander, was also
\nresponsible for the bloody attack against Megawati's supporters
\non July 27, 1996, and there was no justifiable reason to reelect
\nSutiyoso to another five-year term, but they could not prevent
\nMegawati's inclination toward Sutiyoso.<\/p>\n
The total obedience of Megawati's followers does not stop
\nthere. They undergo urine tests to order as Megawati wants to
\nknow if anyone of her political loyalists has been taking drugs.
\nMegawati has also ordered all her ministers and government
\nofficials to have urine tests. The results, however, are still
\nunknown.<\/p>\n
The obedience of Megawati's followers is ironic, given that
\nthey had hoped that the eldest daughter of the founding father
\nwould end Soeharto's authoritarianism and bring prosperity and
\njustice to the nation. Many of them were victims of Soeharto's
\niron-fisted leadership, sidelined in national politics, or simply
\nthe jobless.<\/p>\n
Megawati seems to have decided to forget the July 27, 1996
\ntragedy, when the military orchestrated the violent breakup of a
\ngathering of her supporters on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta,
\non that black Saturday. The incident skyrocketed Megawati to
\nnational fame because she was portrayed as the most potent symbol
\nof Soeharto's victims.<\/p>\n
It is understandable that Megawati has decided to save Golkar
\nchairman Akbar Tandjung from a House of Representatives political
\ninquiry, as evident in last week's voting -- she may have been
\ninspired by Golkar. Megawati is believed to have made up her mind
\non Akbar and Sutiyoso at her official residence on Jl. Teuku
\nUmar, Central Jakarta. The house was once used by Soeharto in his
\ncapacity as chairman of the Golkar board of patrons, where he
\nmight have taken crucial decisions to crack down on the
\nopposition, including his attempt to scupper Megawati's political
\ncareer in 1996.<\/p>\n
As in Golkar, where Soeharto had the final say on nearly all
\nGolkar affairs during his authoritarian rule, Megawati acts like
\nthe supreme leader of PDI Perjuangan. From the election of the
\nparty leadership at regency level to the suspension of a wayward
\nmember -- all must await her petunjuk (direction).<\/p>\n
Soeharto, who lives peacefully just a few hundred meters from
\nMegawati's residence, should be grateful to Megawati, although
\nthe retired five-star general surely remembers how severely he
\ntreated her father Sukarno before his death in 1970. When he
\nrecently fell ill, President Megawati showed her willingness to
\nreduce Soeharto's suffering, although many were suspicious about
\nthe timing of Soeharto's sickness. The legal proceedings
\nregarding Soeharto have barely begun.<\/p>\n
While Megawati appears to be dominant over her party, there
\nare rising complaints from various sources about the activities
\nof her husband Taufik Kiemas. He has supported his wife since the
\n1970s, when Soeharto treated Sukarno's children as pariahs. There
\nis no doubt about his sincerity to his wife. The question is how
\nto adjust his role to avoid the public perception that Taufik
\nunduly influences Megawati's administration.<\/p>\n
Megawati has reportedly often told people around her there is
\nno way that Taufik could influence her decisions. But is that
\nenough to convince the public, while some PDI Perjuangan members
\nand Cabinet members acknowledge the rising and more disturbing
\npower of Taufik, a PDI Perjuangan legislator?<\/p>\n
Taufik is one reason cited behind Megawati's stance on
\nSutiyoso -- because people cannot find any other explanation for
\nher firm decision.<\/p>\n
Like it or not, PDI Perjuangan has prepared fertile ground for
\nMegawati to potentially grow as a dictator, whose decisions must
\nbe wholeheartedly accepted.<\/p>\n
She is a charismatic leader and people love her father who led
\nthe nation toward its independence. She followed his rise and
\nfall.<\/p>\n
Megawati now serves the nation at the palace in which she grew
\nup and where Sukarno also worked as president. Many hope that she
\nwill indeed bring prosperity, justice and democracy to the
\nnation, and not repeat her predecessors' mistakes -- including
\nthose of both her father and Soeharto.<\/p>",
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