Land of miracles?<\/p>\n
To call this land under the tropical sun full of miracles
\nsurely is an exaggeration. Yet there have been a number of, I
\nwould say, \"miracle-like\" developments recently.<\/p>\n
The first miracle is the inability, due to a certain
\nconspiracy or not, of the South Jakarta Court, to start
\nproceedings on the Soeharto case that has seemed for years such a
\nsimple task to tackle and the charges so obvious, being illegal
\nconduct both political and personal. As we know, expert doctors,
\nincluding the so-called independent ones, have declared Soeharto,
\naged 79, absolutely unfit for trial due to the fact that he has
\nlost his memory, his speech and perhaps his mind as well. He was
\nfound to have dropped to the intellectual level of a third grade
\nelementary school child.<\/p>\n
The former strong man was also found suffering from permanent
\nbrain damage. There is now little chance that he will ever occupy
\nthe chair in the court. As a matter of miraculous fact, he has
\nnow been declared a free man and can go wherever and whenever he
\nwants. Soeharto, who has been accused of corruption, collusion
\nand nepotism for so long, has successfully escaped the grip of
\nlaw. The question on many lips is now whether he will also escape
\nthe scale of justice?<\/p>\n
Another miraculous thing is the statement by the deputy
\ngovernor of Bank Indonesia, Miranda Gultom, painting a very rosy
\npicture for the coming fiscal year, including an economic growth
\nrate of 4 percent and an inflation rate of 6 to 7 percent. There
\nwould be an increase in foreign capital investment and greater
\nstability of the rupiah currency, she predicted. As she usually
\ndoes not talk so optimistically, such predictions sound
\nsuspicious, at the least.<\/p>\n
Fuel prices have been raised beginning Oct. 1. Yet the massive
\nstudent protests over the country, accompanied by uncontrollable
\nworkers' strikes and other social upheavals, have not happened.
\nThis seems to be something like a miracle too.<\/p>\n
A big miracle that many people would like to happen is that
\nafter his return from his overseas trip, President Abdurrahman
\nWahid would stop making controversial statements and fixing new
\ndates for the exploration of terra incognita near the south or
\nnorth poles. Does he ever care to have priorities? Does he mind
\nat all that Indonesia's household is still grappling with the
\nheavy burden of international debt and internal dissent? Why was
\nhe away when the Soeharto trial was aborted? Does he not see it
\nas a defeat of the reformists camp and a reawakening of the New
\nOrder forces?<\/p>\n
A solution of the Atambua crisis against that background would
\nindeed be another miracle if it happens.<\/p>\n
GANDHI SUKARDI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/land-of-miracles-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }