Can Megawati lead reformed government?<\/p>\n
By Donna K. Woodward<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Megawati Soekarnoputri, who was
\nreelected as chairwoman and nominated as a presidential candidate
\nby the government-ousted faction of the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty (PDI) in its recent congress in Bali, has become a leading
\nopposition figure. But is she a reformer who can lead the
\ngovernment in the reformation era?<\/p>\n
In 1996, when the country was preparing for the 1997 general
\nelection, and there were already perceptible though muffled
\nexpressions of dissatisfaction with Soeharto's regime and the
\nexcesses of his children, PDI had begun to speak of mounting an
\nactual election challenge with Megawati as their presidential
\ncandidate. At that time, Soeharto was floating the idea of his
\nown daughter's succession to high office.<\/p>\n
Soeharto and his henchmen took notice of Megawati and the
\npotential threat she posed. The threat was not to Soeharto's
\nimpending reelection, of course, but to his plan for his
\ndaughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana (Tutut), to succeed him as
\nIndonesia's first female president.<\/p>\n
Megawati was an unexpected addition to the equation but
\nSoeharto overreacted. And his overreaction created the Megawati
\nmystique.<\/p>\n
Megawati was elected head of PDI in 1993 during a turbulent
\nperiod for the party, at a time when they needed a figurehead to
\nappeal to their marginalized, disillusioned members.<\/p>\n
She might have been a loyal PDI supporter prior to 1993, and
\nshe might sincerely have wanted a better life for her fellow
\nIndonesians and a more democratic government, but so did many
\nothers. What had Megawati accomplished for the party and its
\ncauses to qualify her for the title of PDI chairwoman in 1993,
\nother than contributing a useful family name? And will she later
\nbecome too beholden to those who bestowed a title on her so
\ngratuitously?<\/p>\n
Megawati has become a leading opposition figure. But is she a
\nreformer?<\/p>\n
Most Indonesians now say they are opposed to New Order
\npolitics as well as corruption, collusion (cronyism) and
\nnepotism.<\/p>\n
Yet Megawati and her PDI have formed strategic alliances with
\nformer Soeharto comrades who now reject what he stood for but who
\ndid not have the courage to distance themselves from Soeharto and
\nhis favors while he was in power. Does this not suggest the
\ndirection and degree of compromise that a PDI\/Megawati government
\nwould take?<\/p>\n
And when the group of seven (G-7) governments, through their
\nembassy officials, show interest in a particular political
\ncandidate, this is a often a sign of their confidence that the
\ncandidate and his\/her policies will ultimately safeguard the
\neconomic interests of the G-7 countries. Their interests and
\nthose of Indonesia may not be identical. Is the Megawati team
\nindependent enough from the G-7's influence to be able later to
\nensure that the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and
\nother international aid organizations will serve the needs of
\nIndonesia's ordinary people better in the future than they did in
\nthe past?<\/p>\n
Who has the bona fides to lead a true reform government? Is it
\nreally Megawati and her PDI? Megawati was chosen to lead her
\nparty because she had a value as a symbol of those who were anti-
\nSoeharto.<\/p>\n
Symbols have enormous value for communities, especially in
\ntimes of chaos. But Megawati has yet to demonstrate that she
\npossesses the other capabilities and qualities that the next
\npresident will need, for example, a spirit of independence from
\nvested interests.<\/p>\n
There is no reason to object to Megawati as person, a
\ncompassionate and intelligent person who might make an excellent
\ncandidate for a different position. But as president, can she, or
\nwill she, take the reins of reform into her own hands and lead
\nIndonesia out of the morals of corruption in which it now seems
\nstuck?<\/p>\n
In 1999, will Indonesians choose a beloved but ineffectual
\nopposition symbol to lead a government that needs, rather, a
\ncourageous reform leader?<\/p>\n
The writer, an attorney and former American diplomat at the
\nU.S. Consulate General in Medan, is director of PT Far Horizons.<\/p>",
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