How fares Soeharto?<\/p>\n
As the Dutch say, hoge bomen vangen veel wind (tall trees
\ncatch much wind). During the 32 years that Soeharto was president
\nof Indonesia, even the slightest sign of illness was enough to
\nset off rumors of a power struggle within the political elite and
\nrattle the market.<\/p>\n
Those years are over, of course. But even after his fall from
\npower in May last year, it cannot be denied that Indonesia's
\nformer second president continues to exert a considerable
\ninfluence, at least in certain segments of our community. How
\nelse to explain the persistent speculation circulating at present
\nthat the former strongman is still pulling strings behind the
\nscene to ensure the new government that will emerge after the
\nNovember presidential elections will be favorably inclined toward
\nprotecting him and his clan's interests?<\/p>\n
For that reason there is no cause to feel either shocked,
\nsurprised or resentful -- depending on the kind of emotional
\nrelationship one has with the ex-president -- about the seemingly
\nnosy attitude the media has been displaying around the Pertamina
\nHospital sickroom and facilities where Soeharto is being treated
\nafter a mild stroke he is said to have suffered last Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Soeharto is the former chief executive of Southeast Asia's
\nbiggest country and the fourth most populous in the world. He is
\nthe man who, during his long tenure, managed, among other things,
\nto raise the standard of life for millions of Indonesians, even
\nif much of that economic progress later turned out to be hollow
\nin many important sectors due to rampant power abuse and
\nmismanagement.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, at the same time, is the man who, through his iron-
\nfisted rule, fashioned the executive branch of government into a
\npower apparatus so overbearing, it turned the legislative and
\njudiciary branches, together with the military, into mere
\nsubordinate extensions of the state's executive powers. Soeharto
\nis the man who effectively dealt a death blow to democracy after
\nhis predecessor, Sukarno, stunted its functioning by his
\nintroduction of \"guided democracy\". Soeharto, in other words, was
\nthe main architect of much of what was both good and bad in this
\ncountry's most recent past.<\/p>\n
At this moment, even in his present impaired condition -- or
\nperhaps because of it -- Soeharto continues to draw the attention
\nof millions of Indonesians. For one thing, the legal process of
\ngoing after his and his family's alleged personal wealth with
\nwhich his successor, B.J. Habibie, is burdened by legislative
\norder, has barely started and is now dangling in uncertainty. For
\nanother, many Indonesians are watching with interest what
\nSoeharto's illness and possible permanent disability could have
\non the process of electing a new president for the country in
\nNovember.<\/p>\n
Given the huge impact Soeharto's legacy still has on the lives
\nof so many Indonesians, it would be needless to say the public
\nhas a right to be accurately informed of the former president's
\ncondition. Under these circumstances, Indonesians think with envy
\nof how most modern democratic countries release reliable
\ninformation to the public in times such as these.<\/p>\n
Surely, especially considering the precarious times in which
\nIndonesians are living at present, it is better -- if worse comes
\nto worse -- to have our medical authorities handle the task of
\ninforming the public in the same way American doctors did during
\nPresident Reagan's illness or President Eisenhower's demise,
\nrather than to shroud Soeharto in the same kind of secrecy
\nRussian doctors did with Stalin at the time of the Soviet
\nleader's death.<\/p>\n
One more suggestion to conclude this commentary: It would help
\nif somebody in the family could tell Soeharto's legal advisors to
\nstop issuing medical statements and leave this particular task to
\nthe medical authorities in charge. Too much confusion has already
\nbeen caused by one and all giving out contrary statements about
\nthe ex-president's condition.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/how-fares-soeharto-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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