Megawati's agenda<\/p>\n
Although it lasted for no more than 40 minutes, the first
\nmeeting of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's full Gotong Royong
\n(mutual help) Cabinet on Monday gives us what might properly be
\ncalled the first rough sketch of the President's grand policy
\ndesign for the coming three-year period. Given the President's
\nearlier statements that reflected her deep concern about the
\npossibility of this nation's disintegration, maintaining the
\nterritorial integrity of this sprawling archipelagic country is
\nat the top of the Cabinet's six-point agenda.<\/p>\n
Second on the agenda is the continuation of the country's
\nreform movement that was set into motion with the fall of former
\npresident Soeharto in 1997, democratization on the basis of a
\nmore clear-cut program and respect for human rights.
\nNormalization of the economy ranks third on the agenda, while law
\nenforcement, improving public security and the drive against
\ncorruption, collusion and nepotism rank fourth.<\/p>\n
Fifth on the agenda is the conduct of a free and active
\nforeign policy and restoring international trust in the country,
\nespecially among foreign aid institutions. Finally, sixth on the
\nCabinet's agenda, is conducting preparations for the 2004 general
\nelections. A few other policy directives, such as improving
\ninternal communications and pinpointing the nation's threats and
\nchallenges, round out the government's agenda outlined at this
\nfirst Cabinet meeting. In short, nothing spectacular or dramatic
\ncame out of the meeting. Instead, it was plain, rational thinking
\nwell in line with Megawati's earlier policy decisions that seems
\nto have dominated.<\/p>\n
Although the Cabinet's national agenda is spread over six
\npoints, it must not be assumed that those points are ranked in
\norder of priority. Rather, they must be seen as constituting an
\nindivisible whole with priorities allotted as the situation
\ndemands. How, for example, can Indonesia's territorial integrity
\nbe assured unless the sense of justice of the local populations
\nin each of the country's various regions is met?<\/p>\n
Meeting this demand for justice involves not only a more
\nequitable distribution of wealth between the center -- or Jakarta
\n-- and the regions, it also means adjusting and implementing the
\nlaw so as to properly balance their interests and to assure that
\nhuman rights are respected.<\/p>\n
On a different plane, the fact that reform, democratization
\nand the eradication of corruption and economic reform must go
\nhand-in-hand must be obvious to everyone. The rampant corruption
\nthat was one of the major hallmarks of the past New Order regime
\nwas born of the fact that democracy was suppressed, thereby
\ngiving corrupt businesspeople and officials a free hand in
\nmismanaging the country's economy. How hollow the much-touted
\n\"economic progress\" under the New Order was only came to light
\nafter the Asian economic crisis struck and corporations, which
\nfor decades had thrived on favors obtained in collusion with
\ngovernment officials with powerful names, turned out to be unable
\nto pay their huge outstanding debts.<\/p>\n
If there is one point that needs to be answered it is how the
\nCabinet intends to implement its new \"free and active\" policy.
\nIndonesia in fact adopted this stance of non-alignment almost
\nimmediately after its birth in August 1945 in response to the
\nthen existing Cold War between the West and the Soviet Block. The
\nnewly born Indonesian state at that time opted not to be drawn
\ninto the global conflict by adopting a policy of non-alignment,
\nalthough history shows that the implementation of this policy was
\nnot always as consistent as some might wish, veering sometimes to
\nthe left or right as policymakers in Jakarta saw fit in the
\noverall Indonesian context.<\/p>\n
In our view, whatever appearance Indonesia's new foreign
\npolicy may present in the near future, the measure of its success
\nshould be in how well it serves the nation's interests, at home
\nas well as abroad. By doing so, Indonesia's foreign policy would
\nhelp round out the Megawati administration's policy goals as
\ndelineated by the Cabinet.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawatis-agenda-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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