Domestic problems await Mega's arrival<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri returned home on Sunday evening
\nfrom her trip to Africa and Europe, bringing with her a bundle of
\nmemorandums of understanding that need further discussion before
\nthey can materialize.<\/p>\n
Ending the 15-day whirlwind tour to six countries, Megawati
\ntouched down safely at Halim Perdanakusumah Airport and was
\ngreeted by Vice President Hamzah Haz and several Cabinet members.<\/p>\n
Critics have said that Megawati, who has just completed her
\nsixth overseas trip in the past year, is no different from her
\npredecessor, who liked to travel instead of dealing with problems
\nat home.<\/p>\n
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid traveled to more than 50
\ncountries during his 20 months in office, and Megawati, who
\nassumed power in July last year, has gone to 27 countries.<\/p>\n
Following in the footsteps of her predecessor, Megawati failed
\nto secure any confirmed business deals with the countries she
\nvisited. A presidential staff member told The Jakarta Post that
\nonly a few MOUs in the economic field were signed during the trip
\nthis time around.<\/p>\n
A high-ranking official at the Presidential Palace told the
\nPost that the trip, which took Megawati to South Africa, Algiers,
\nHungary, Bosnia, Croatia and Egypt, cost the country about Rp 22
\nbillion (US$2.5million).<\/p>\n
People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais said on
\nSunday it was unnecessary that Megawati spent so much money on
\nthe trip as there were no significant results from her travels.<\/p>\n
"As far as I know, the President disbursed Rp 250 billion on
\noverseas trips and nothing came out of it. If it had lured
\ninvestors to the country that would have been fine, but the
\nproblem is, it did not," Amien told Antara.<\/p>\n
During her absence, the country saw the courts sentence House
\nof Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung to three years in jail
\nfor graft and the chaotic reelection of Sutiyoso as Jakarta's
\ngovernor.<\/p>\n
Megawati was also away during the peak of a human drama that
\nfollowed the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of undocumented
\nmigrant workers from the neighboring country of Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Another practice the President picked up from Abdurrahman was
\nthe habit to complain while she was out of the country.<\/p>\n
During her tour, she criticized the Indonesian media for
\n"blowing the workers' plight out of proportion", while lashing
\nout at critics who found fault with her overseas trip.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/domestic-problems-await-megas-arrival-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}