Disappointing situation<\/p>\n
I am writing in response to Mr. Gottfried Roelcke's letter Has
\nthe MPR failed the people?". I am a PAN voter, and I supported
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri to become president because her party was
\nthe winner, no matter that some people called it a simple or
\nabsolute majority, or even if an expatriate like Mr. Roelcke
\nthinks that it was not the winner. And Ms. Ratnaningsih is right,
\nI am one of those PAN voters who are very disappointed in Amien
\nRais' inconsistency, the same with what happened to his secretary
\ngeneral, Faisal Basri.<\/p>\n
I think Amien Rais is not a true reformist. He was elected
\nchairman of the People's Consultative Assembly with the support
\nof Golkar, a party that he always condemned in the past. As soon
\nas he was elected he became very soft toward reform, like he has
\nforgotten all of that since he is happy now in his new "chair".
\nAnd his party turned out to be supporters of Habibie. He also
\nproudly declared that he was supported by Habibie to be president
\nafter Habibie's speech was rejected. Very disappointing indeed!<\/p>\n
If they had been clear from the start about their intention to
\nsupport Habibie, many people like me would have voted for another
\nparty. This is deception to the core and these "people's"
\nrepresentatives deserve every bit of Ms. Ratnaningsih's
\ncondemnation. Why won't these people give Megawati a chance?
\nWhat has she done wrong other than being a woman and very quiet?
\nIsn't this attitude nauseating? We've been crying hell that we
\nwant to change, that's why Golkar only got less that 20 percent
\nvotes (actually), but these people just don't want to listen to
\nus. Their only concern is their own good.<\/p>\n
Amien Rais is as much an opportunist as many other members of
\nthe central axis force. They are not fighting for Islam, the way
\nthey want us to believe. I am a Muslim myself and don't feel they
\nrepresent me.<\/p>\n
I think for little people like me, it is clear, the point is
\nnot about Megawati or the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
\n(PDI Perjuangan), even if genies have won the election, they
\nshould deserve to rule the country. Only the political elite
\nmakes it look like 65 percent of voters rejected Megawati.
\nBesides, I read in Kompas that PDI Perjuangan's votes are "gold
\nvotes" meaning that its votes are expensive: Rp 250,000 for one
\nseat in Java as opposed to Rp 100,000 in Sulawesi. On top of
\nthat, various polls by many different media and independent
\norganizations clearly show that most people want Megawati as
\ntheir president, not Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus
\nDur, or Habibie; though personally, I prefer Gus Dur than
\nMegawati. With the National Awakening Party and other small
\nfractions' support, PDI Perjuangan has got virtually over 50
\npercent of votes, and if all this is not a sign of victory, Mr.
\nRoelcke should go back to school and learn more mathematics.<\/p>\n
Demonstrations and riots should not be about why one party
\nshould or shouldn't rule, but election result is. If Megawati had
\nruled and riots were everywhere, well... these people need to
\nlearn more about democracy.<\/p>\n
Why does Mr. Roelcke think Gus Dur wants Megawati to be his
\nvice president? Isn't the crux of the matter clear, that the
\nelection winner's supporters have to be heard? Expatriates
\nsometimes cannot see beyond the superficiality. They don't know
\nwhat Indonesian people really think and want. They don't like
\nMegawati because they think she is dumb, while Habibie is smart,
\neducated, speaks English well. Well, I don't like Megawati, but
\nshe is better than many other political clowns who are sitting in
\nthe Assembly. She is honest and straight, unlike Amien Rais and
\nhis ilk.<\/p>\n
FARIDA HANUM<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/disappointing-situation-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }