Old faces will appear<\/p>\n
Saturday's discussion titled Megawati Among Her Rivals hinted
\nat skepticism that in 2004 no new national leaders would emerge
\nfrom the 2004 general election.<\/p>\n
The new president might be directly elected but he or she
\nwould be an old hand.<\/p>\n
The discussion, held to coincide with the establishment of
\nPresidential Candidate Watchers (PCW), concluded that an old face
\nwould not be able to deal with this country's economic, social
\nand political ills.<\/p>\n
PCW coordinator Iriani Sophiaan said in the discussion that
\nall the presidential candidates were old players with poor
\nrecords. The issue was something that had become a matter of
\npopular concern: It was unlikely a genuinely new leader would
\nemerge.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has had five presidents, none of whom was directly
\nelected by the people. Sukarno emerged as the nation's leader,
\nthanks to his extraordinary leadership before independence.
\nSoeharto appeared following political turmoil, while B.J.
\nHabibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and current president Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri were all elected by political party
\nrepresentatives.<\/p>\n
Harold Crouch, an Australian Indonesianist who attended the
\ndiscussion, said that people at village level might know nothing
\nabout the quality of their current leaders, whom they will have
\nto elect directly in the 2004 elections. Therefore, emotional
\nchoices will outweigh rational ones.<\/p>\n
The elected president, whether or not he or she is a new
\nplayer, will face a people who have been growing braver and more
\ndemocratic. -- Harian Ekonomi Neraca, Jakarta<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/old-faces-will-appear-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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