Megawati puts high stake on security<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Like her father, the founding president Sukarno, President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri is obsessed with security and tends to
\ndisregard the bigger picture of the country.<\/p>\n
She seems to think that once the security problems are solved,
\nthings will take care of themselves. This explains why she has
\nbeen adament in ensuring security in the country since she was
\npresident in 2001.<\/p>\n
Her real achievement this year has been the fight against
\nterrorism and the cracking down on Muslim militants without major
\nresistance from the majority Muslim in the country.<\/p>\n
Another achievement is the implementation of martial law in
\nthe war-torn province of Aceh to end the independence struggle of
\nthe Free Aceh Movement (GAM) that goes on without major foul out
\nas concern about possible human rights violation is high.<\/p>\n
Sectarian clashes in several areas gradually died down
\nfollowing the revocation of civil emergency status in North
\nMaluku and very soon in Maluku province.<\/p>\n
Despite continuing sporadic riots, the situation in Poso,
\nCentral Sulawesi has also been improving, at least there is a
\ncommon local perception not to be provoked by the series of new
\nattacks by unidentified armed men.<\/p>\n
These achievements put the country in a better standing, which
\nin turn helps restore the macro-economic condition in the
\ncountry, wrecked since the 1997 economic crisis.<\/p>\n
The exchange rate of rupiah against U.S. dollar remains stable
\nat around Rp 8,500 and economic growth has climbed to 3.8 percent
\nwith inflation dropping to 4.08 percent from around 11 percent
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
Citing the improvement in the economic index, Megawati makes
\nher point to security restoration as the best choice to emerge
\nthe country from the prolonged crisis.<\/p>\n
However, since efforts to maintain political stability stand
\nout at the expense of attempts to improve people's welfare and
\npolitical participation in the country, people remain critical of
\nMegawati's administration.<\/p>\n
The macro-economic improvement is not followed by the micro-
\neconomic revival as the unemployment rate remains high and the
\npeople's purchasing power remains low.<\/p>\n
\"It is true that the macro-economic condition has improved
\nunder Megawati, but look at the micro-economic condition, people
\nare still hungry,\" urban poor activist Wardah Hafidz once said.<\/p>\n
Besides, under the name of stability, Megawati's
\nadministration has sparked more anxiety among people with a
\nseries of \"disciplinary actions\" by trying several activists for
\nstaging rallies against the government and journalists for their
\ncritical reports, which were considered as an insult.<\/p>\n
Under Megawati, corruption remains rampant, prompting the
\nWorld Bank to remind her administration to be more prudent in
\nfighting the crime.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Teten Masduki
\nsaid recently that corruption had worsened during Megawati's 30-
\nmonth-old tenure.<\/p>\n
International Transparency said that despite the reform
\nmovement and its democratic leader, Indonesia had emerged as the
\nsecond most corrupt country in the world after Nigeria.<\/p>\n
The year 2003 saw two cases of alleged nepotism and collusion
\ninvolving the first family. The first was purchase of four
\nRussian-made Sukhoi warplanes worth US$197 million that involved
\nMegawati's son-in-law Hapsoro and the second the Kemayoran
\nconstruction project worth Rp 1.3 trillion (US$153 million) that
\nwas granted to her eldest son Mohammad Rizky Pratama.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement throughout the year gave Megawati a red mark
\nas convicted corruptors and human rights abusers were able to
\nroam free, even contest the presidency.<\/p>\n
Instead of building people's awareness of maintaining unity of
\nthe nation by providing them with better welfare, sense of
\njustice and equal treatment, Megawati appeared to resort to
\nrepression to make people stay together.<\/p>\n
\"Megawati has compromised the reform movement and betrayed her
\nconstituents for the sake of stability,\" Sophan Sophiaan, who
\nused to be one of her staunch supporters, said.<\/p>\n
Little does she realize that she does not have the influence
\nand capability of controlling things in the country as Soeharto
\nuse to do.<\/p>\n
Surveys by many institutions, including from her own the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), show
\nthat her popularity is steadily declining.<\/p>\n
In 2004, the country will hold its first ever direct
\npresidential election and the apparent candidacy of former
\npresident Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti \"Tutut\" Hardiyanti
\nRukmana may either positively or negatively affect Megawati's bid
\nto stay in power.<\/p>\n
Some worry that Tutut will help the old forces to regain
\nground and this could be exploited by Megawati to win back
\npeople's support and restore her image.<\/p>\n
Should Megawati remains ignorant of the plights of the common
\npeople, Tutut would have a justification that the old days are
\nworth revived.<\/p>",
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