Megawati says RI needs leaders with inner authority<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Sumedang, West Java<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Tuesday the nation was
\nin need of leaders with intrinsic authority far more than those
\nwho simply relied on power.<\/p>\n
Speaking in her address to 621 graduates of the Public
\nAdministration Institute here, Megawati said leadership qualities
\nwere worth developing as such characteristics would result in
\nvoluntary obedience among followers.<\/p>\n
"Power relies much on regulations. In governing, it's clear
\nthat possessing leadership qualities is better than just wielding
\npower," the President said.<\/p>\n
She warned that a power-oriented style of governing would
\ndiscourage the people at the grass roots from expressing their
\naspirations and fail to respond to the dynamic nature of society,
\nwhich is no different from the way the past regime ruled the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
The President asserted that only if leaders lived with their
\npeople could they identify their expectations.<\/p>\n
She said the endorsed constitutional amendments would lead
\npolitical parties to compete to respond to the real needs of
\ntheir constituents.<\/p>\n
"People's representatives in the legislative bodies, the
\npresident and vice president will be elected directly by the
\npeople. Consequently, each political party has to pick its best
\ncadres who can gain the people's trust not only due to their
\ncharisma, but their capability in formulating the people's
\naspirations into real programs," Megawati said.<\/p>\n
Following the tight competition, the elected politicians are
\nsupposed to lead a bureaucracy and change their promises into
\nconcrete actions.<\/p>\n
"Politicians have to learn more about their constituents'
\nhistorical background, culture, aspirations and interests," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The current practice of administration adopted in the country,
\naccording to the President, has prevented people from
\nunderstanding the complexity of problems facing other regions,
\noverlooking the fact that most of the country's population live
\nin remote areas.<\/p>\n
"The result is many government policies look good on paper,
\nbut they turn out to be irrelevant or not in line with people's
\nneeds. We understand now that many problems facing the nation
\nrelated with politics, economy, society or culture are just an
\naccumulation of difficulties people in the regions face, "
\nMegawati said.<\/p>\n
Some 300 students from several universities greeted Megawati
\nwith a rally to criticize her government for failing to carry out
\nsweeping reforms.<\/p>\n
"Poverty is rising, law enforcement is poor and national debt
\nhas reached an alarming level," one of the protesters, Mohamad
\nTaufik, said.<\/p>\n
The students were unable to approach the President to
\narticulate their demands due to the tight security. The students
\ndispersed peacefully later in the day.<\/p>\n
It was the 10th batch of the institute's graduates, who
\ncomprised 460 males and 161 females. Nine of the top ten
\ngraduates were women.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-says-ri-needs-leaders-with-inner-authority-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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