Susilo's hurdles<\/p>\n
It is part of the irony of Indonesia's recent history that
\neven at this hour of overwhelming electoral triumph, the nation's
\nnew president-elect, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, must be ready to
\nhandle the obstructions that are certain to occur during his
\nfive-year term, which will formally begin on Oct. 20.<\/p>\n
Certainly, by all the conventional standards of democratic
\npractice, SBY, as he is popularly known, should have as little
\ntrouble governing as is possible under Indonesia's prevailing
\npolitical and societal climate.<\/p>\n
With the official vote tally completed and made public
\nyesterday, Susilo is assured of the support of nearly 61 percent
\nof the 116 million voters who cast their ballots in last month's
\nelection -- the first direct presidential election ever in this
\ncountry's 59 years of independence. By comparison, his rival, the
\noutgoing President Megawati Soekarnoputri, received just 39
\npercent of the vote.<\/p>\n
Quite obviously, however, the most conspicuous obstacle that
\nawaits Susilo as soon as he takes the reins of power on Oct. 20
\nis that the alliance of parties that supports him is a minority
\nin the House of Representatives -- his own Democratic Party
\ncontrols only about 10 percent of seats -- with the great
\nmajority belonging to the "other side," the so-called Nationhood
\nCoalition, which includes the two biggest political parties,
\nPresident Megawati's own Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P),
\nand the Golkar Party, plus a number of smaller parties.<\/p>\n
In a worst-case scenario, therefore, the Nationhood Coalition
\nwould be well-equipped to obstruct the president in his work and
\nprevent him from carrying out the pledged policies that have won
\nhim the voters' support in the first place: reviving the economy,
\ncracking down on corruption and creating jobs. It is little
\ncomfort, both to the new president and to the Indonesian populace
\nat large, to say that this huge gap that exists between political
\nparty support and popular support points to an electoral system
\nthat no longer reflects the realities that are alive within the
\nIndonesian body politic.<\/p>\n
Disheartening as such a situation may be, it is only part of a
\ncomplicated maze of problems that await the incoming president,
\nor any well-intentioned leader bent on improving the lot of the
\npeople. While progress has been made under President Megawati's
\nadministration, the economy has been growing too slowly -- less
\nthen 5 percent in recent years. Corruption remains rampant and
\nmore than 38 million Indonesians out of a population of 210
\nmillion live below the poverty line, subsisting on less than US$1
\na day. Well over 41 million people are either unemployed or
\nunderemployed.<\/p>\n
Given this dire situation, the best hope Indonesians have for
\nimproving their lot under the new president is for the majority
\nparties in the national legislature to be able to have the wisdom
\nto put the interests of the people and the country above their
\nown. It is time, for their own good and for the good of the
\nnation, that they realize that change has already begun in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
But even assuming that reconciliation can be achieved on a
\nnational scale and differences can be put aside, the three major
\ngoals that SBY has set for himself -- reviving the economy,
\ncracking down on corruption and creating jobs -- remain daunting
\nindeed, and especially so in the political culture here. Let us
\nhope, therefore, that the new president will show himself to be a
\ntrue statesman, who is able to avoid the pitfalls of
\nauthoritarian power that entrapped our former president,
\nSoeharto, in the latter years of his tenure. As the nation
\napproaches its 60th year of independence, the citizens have a
\nright indeed to finally see their struggles pay off in terms of
\nimproved welfare, greater justice and greater prosperity.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susilos-hurdles-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}