Ex-king can do no wrong<\/p>\n
Perhaps very few people capable of rational thought believe
\nwhat ousted president Soeharto said in his speech broadcast by
\nthe private TPI television station on Sunday night. In his
\nstatement, Soeharto denied allegations that he had a personal
\nfortune worth trillions of rupiah (hundreds of millions of U.S.
\ndollars) stashed away both overseas and at home.<\/p>\n
He said he did not even have one cent of savings abroad, \"let
\nalone billions of dollars.\"<\/p>\n
But, to the new Attorney General, Army Lt. Gen. Andi Muhammad
\nGhalib, Soeharto's denial is the truth, the whole truth and
\nnothing but the truth. Ghalib, who in June vowed to continue with
\ninvestigations launched by his predecessor into Soeharto's wealth
\nand other government corruption, said he trusted Soeharto because
\n\"he is a former president.\"<\/p>\n
We regret to say that we can find no vestiges of logic in
\nGhalib's statement. Nowhere on this planet can there be found a
\nhead of state beyond human fallibility. The United States has a
\nlong list of lying presidents, with Bill Clinton only the latest
\nexample.<\/p>\n
There is a popular belief that kings can do no wrong because
\nthey are merely figureheads, but since the last century, people
\nin many Western monarchies have been disappointed by the
\nwrongdoings of their monarchs. An old adage in Europe goes: \"In
\nall ages, hypocrites, called priests, have put crowns upon the
\nheads of thieves, called kings.\"<\/p>\n
Here in Southeast Asia, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
\nMohamad, in a speech delivered several years ago before the Dewan
\nRakyat (Parliament), lashed out at the country's sultans for
\ntheir thoughtless acts.<\/p>\n
Those who observed Soeharto's despotic rule over the last 32
\nyears will need little time to remember how he ceaselessly lied
\nto this nation. Soeharto was a fantasist -- if not a pathological
\nliar -- who could not tell the truth from lies. Almost not a
\nsingle day went by without him telling Indonesians that he was
\nstrictly implementing the 1945 Constitution at the same time as
\nhe was violating the very first paragraph of it by single-
\nhandedly appointing two thirds of the members of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
Since Soeharto styled his rule in the fashion of a Javanese
\nking, many people might share Ghalib's belief in the
\ninfallibility of his word. But believing that a king can do no
\nwrong is incompatible with the wind of social change which is now
\nblowing through Indonesia.<\/p>\n
We would only accept words to the effect that Soeharto cannot
\ntell a lie because he is a former ruler if they were uttered by a
\nformer court jester from his palace. And even then, the joke
\nwould be one of bad taste because the nation, gripped as it is by
\na devastating economic crisis, has no time for wisecracks.<\/p>\n
Since the statement was made by a senior member of President
\nB.J. Habibie's administration, one can hazard a guess at just how
\ndominant this old mentality still is among the ruling elite of
\ntoday.<\/p>\n
Indonesians can now be assured that the government
\ninvestigation into Soeharto's alleged wealth will only turn out
\nfarcical results. The investigation team might even take a route
\nwhich leads nowhere and reveals nothing.<\/p>\n
The abuse of power by the Soeharto regime was so voluminous
\nthat this country actually needs a Ken Starr-style attorney. It
\nneeds someone who will dare to wage a crusade to uncover the
\ntruth, regardless of the fact that the world's most powerful
\npresident is the prime suspect.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ex-king-can-do-no-wrong-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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