It's Gus Dur's call<\/p>\n
More and more leading reformist figures who were among the
\nmost ardent supporters of President Abdurrahman Wahid are now
\ndistancing themselves from the man whom they considered a year
\nago as the nation's best hope to lead Indonesia on the reform
\npath and out of the present crisis. Underpinning this trend is
\nthe growing disillusionment at the lack of progress -- lack of
\nreal reforms -- in Indonesia under the leadership of Gus Dur, as
\nthe President is popularly called, in the last 12 months.<\/p>\n
Economist Sjahrir on Monday joined the ranks of respected
\npublic figures like Muslim scholar Nurchoslish Madjid who have
\ngone public in expressing their disappointment at the President's
\nleadership. But Sjahrir has probably gone the furthest, saying
\nthat Gus Dur should immediately resign because he has failed to
\nimplement the various reform programs mandated by the people.
\nSjahrir has even pronounced the Indonesian reform process dead at
\na very young age, thanks to President Abdurrahman.<\/p>\n
While many people share the concerns Sjahrir raised about the
\nPresident's first year in office, they do not necessarily support
\nhis conclusion. But his demand for resignation nevertheless is
\nfood for thought for all of us concerned with the nation, and
\nespecially for the President himself.<\/p>\n
Like Sjahrir, many people are disillusioned at the lack of
\nprogress in strengthening the rule of law, the bedrock of a
\nhealthy democracy. Many cases of human rights abuses,
\nparticularly the fatal shooting of several university students
\nleading the reform struggle in 1998, have not been resolved in
\ncourt and there are no signs they will ever be any time soon.<\/p>\n
Many people share Sjahrir's fears that rather than eradicating
\ncorruption, collusion and nepotism as mandated by the people, the
\nPresident has allowed, tolerated and probably even encouraged
\nthese practices around the presidential palace. The President's
\ndecision to delay the legal process against three tycoons on
\naccount of their supposedly huge contribution to Indonesia's
\nexport revenue, certainly smacks of a grand collusion.<\/p>\n
Granted that President Abdurrahman faces an almost impossible
\ntask in taking Indonesia down the reform path and out of the
\npresent crisis. Most of the problems facing him are the legacy of
\nmore than three decades of misrule and mismanagement. But in the
\neyes of many of his critics, not only has he failed to address
\nthese problems to start with, he has also created or piled new
\nproblems unnecessarily. Gus Dur's performance, or lack of it, in
\nthe last 12 months, is enough reason for many of those in the
\ncivil society movement to raise doubts of his reform credentials.<\/p>\n
Many people had sincerely believed that Gus Dur, given his
\nvision and his commitment to democracy and human rights, could
\nhave made a lot of difference in resolving many of the country's
\nproblems. There were many occasions when his leadership,
\nstatesmanship and wisdom were called for in addressing these
\nproblems, but none were forthcoming.<\/p>\n
Instead of leading the reform campaign as he should be, Gus
\nDur is looking more and more like he is campaigning for himself
\nand for his National Awakening Party (PKB) for the 2004 general
\nelection. To many people, particularly his friends in the reform
\nmovement, Gus Dur has shed his image as a person who fights for
\nthe nation's interests, for a politician who fights for his
\npersonal or narrow group's interests. It is no wonder that many
\nare disillusioned.<\/p>\n
Whether or not Gus Dur should resign is not really for Sjahrir
\nor the reform movement to decide, especially now that we have all
\nprofessed to adhere to democratic principles, which means playing
\nby the rules. Both Amien Rais and Akbar Tandjung, as leaders of
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly and House of Representatives
\nrespectively, in the meantime have made it clear they have no
\nintention to initiate any impeachment process, citing the dangers
\nof setting an unhealthy precedent of unseating a president before
\nhis five-year term in office is up.<\/p>\n
That leaves the matter of his presidency, and therefore the
\nfuture of the reform itself and of the nation, entirely in the
\nhands of Abdurrahman Wahid. But while he may claim to have
\nconstitutional legitimacy, statements from respected figures like
\nNurcholish and Sjahrir show that he is fast losing his popular
\nlegitimacy. That will make governing even more difficult unless
\nhe resorts to authoritarian methods.<\/p>\n
Whether or not Gus Dur continues to rule at this stage is very
\nmuch his own decision. What is clear is that the nation cannot
\nafford to remain at a standstill for very much longer. But
\nwhatever decision he comes to, it should put the interest of the
\nnation first and foremost before his own personal ambitions.
\nSince the ball is very much in his court, he should take the
\ninitiative to try to break the nation from the present of state
\nof stalemate, before a solution is imposed upon him.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/its-gus-durs-call-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}