Megawati best choice for president<\/p>\n
Let me first express my compliments on your newspaper,
\nespecially in relation to the editorials. Upon reading the
\narticles I often have an urge to comment on and sometimes to
\nexpress my bewilderment with the (to me as a westerner)
\nincredible happenings in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Intelligent people who express good (often front-page) ideas
\nand who show quite a bit of insight into Indonesian matters fail
\nto see the importance of the presidency of Megawati. These often
\nvery intelligent people think they know better than the people
\nand in fact they do. The problem, however, is that man is not
\ngoverned by his thinking or rationale alone. Man is an emotional
\nbeing that uses his rationale to control his desire (at which he
\nis in general very unsuccessful). In the last election it was the
\nemotions of the people that were shown, not their knowledge of
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
Take the example of Amien Rais. A very capable outspoken man
\nwho deserves to become the next president of Indonesia. Still the
\npeople ignored him and I'm glad they did. It's because the people
\nneed someone with a heart who cares for them. Amien Rais is an
\nintellectual who will cooperate with other intellectuals who are
\nfar from those of the ruling elite.<\/p>\n
In my home country, Holland, we have a queen who represents
\nthe state. Her contribution to politics is almost zero. Many
\npeople want to get rid of this tradition that only costs
\ntaxpayers a lot of money. Then what's the use of having a queen?
\nFor the majority of people she's a symbol of unity. They feel
\nsafe with her. And we're talking here about one of the most
\nmodern countries in the world! It's the same in many other
\nwestern \"advanced\" countries such as Britain, Belgium and Sweden.
\nWhy was Sukarno called Bung and Soeharto Bapak. Same reason.<\/p>\n
The monetary crisis has shown that we cannot trust our Bapak.
\nSo people voted for justice and therefore reform. Now they feel
\nthat nobody can be trusted and that corruption should not be
\nunderestimated. People are forced to learn about politics. It's
\nan inevitable evolution. And since most Indonesians know very
\nlittle about politics there is still a long way to go before we
\ncan even start with a reform movement. So, that also means that
\nthere's an even longer way to go before we can, at village level,
\nexpect critical voters to help improve the lives of their fellow
\ncitizens and follow through with reforms because corruption is
\ndefinitely not something limited to the big cities of this
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
In order to motivate people to do the right thing we need a
\ncredible government that appeals to them. In this view Megawati
\nis by far the best choice. She cares. She may not be able to
\nvoice this aspect of herself very well but she does care and the
\npeople see that. She wants justice done, something which is
\ndesperately needed in Indonesia. She is ready to serve -- the
\nessence of politics. She doesn't need to be on television every
\nnight.<\/p>\n
So I would like to say to all those intellectual writers:
\nPlease try to listen to the hearts of the Indonesian people and
\nnot just to your head.<\/p>\n
HUUB NEYS<\/p>\n
Kuta, Bali<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-best-choice-for-president-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }