Megawati's silence<\/p>\n
The question of why Megawati Soekarnoputri has not
\nparticipated in the open debate between presidential hopefuls,
\norganized by students of University of Indonesia, seems not to
\nhave been answered satisfactorily, as the ongoing discussion
\nshows. While her critics stopped short of questioning her
\nintellectual capabilities to master such a debate, her supporters
\ndesperately look for arguments to justify her refusal to
\nparticipate in the event.<\/p>\n
To me, her arguments for not participating in the debate, as
\nwell as for her decision to remain silent until now on various
\nurgent political matters, do not make sense. Concerning the
\ndebate, Megawati argued that such an event is a \"breach of
\noriental culture\". She seems to believe that a participant in a
\npolitical discussion who cannot come up with convincing arguments
\nwill necessarily lose face. But this notion does not fit at all
\nwith the repeated commitment of the Indonesian Democratic party
\nof Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan) to democracy, of which the exchange
\nof political arguments is a cornerstone. Megawati also cited the
\nlack of a law regulating such a debate as reason for not
\nparticipating.<\/p>\n
If she really believes that a public debate among presidential
\nhopefuls needs to be regulated by law, then one might wonder what
\nflood of laws and regulations can be expected if she is elected
\npresident. On behalf of Megawati, PDI-Perjuangan secretary Alex
\nLitaay said that \"Megawati's opinions and thoughts are very
\ndeep\". If this is the case, why does she not come forward and
\npresent her \"deep\" opinions and thoughts to a wider audience, for
\nwhich a debate between presidential hopefuls on TV would be an
\nexcellent opportunity? Apart from dictatorships, I cannot imagine
\nany country in the world, let alone my own country, Germany,
\nwhere candidates who want to be elected to office would have any
\nchance of winning without providing voters with their political
\nvisions, ideas and programs.<\/p>\n
Megawati's answers to criticism of her silence do not make any
\nsense to me either. She said, for example, that it is better to
\nkeep silent than to make statements which could worsen
\nsituations. Nobody does, of course, expect her to make such
\nstatements. However, on many occasions people had indeed hoped
\nshe would make statements which could have helped overcome the
\ncritical problems the country is faced with.<\/p>\n
She continued, \"Don't force me to speak because I do not want
\nto speak if it proves to be meaningless.\" Again, I do not think
\nanybody wants her to say something meaningless. On the contrary,
\npeople expect some meaningful political statements from her. She
\nalso said, \"I prefer to be silent because I know the nation faces
\nvery serious challenges.\" From what I know about history, serious
\nnational problems or challenges have never been solved by
\nsilence.<\/p>\n
Thinking about the above statements might lead to questioning
\nwhether Megawati, who is admittedly a symbol for the resistance
\nagainst the Soeharto regime, does not have clear political
\nvisions and concepts on how to solve the country's problems. Does
\nthis mean that her hopes to become the president of Indonesia
\ndepend solely on the name of her famous charismatic father?<\/p>\n
HILDE MAY<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawatis-silence-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }