The darling of the media<\/p>\n
The article titled Megawati laughs at Abdurrahman's move\" (The
\nJakarta Post, June 13, 2001) proves to me once more that the Post
\nsees through rose-colored spectacles when reporting about
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri's performance as vice president. Whatever
\nthe Post wrote so far about her -- every sentence, every letter
\nand even the space between the lines -- sounds like a laud. It
\nseems that the Post makes Megawati an icon who is not supposed to
\nbe criticized. There is nothing wrong if a daily or weekly
\npromotes a particular politician, this is common in all
\ndemocratic countries around the world; but such support shouldn't
\nget out of proportion.<\/p>\n
A vice president is supposed to aid the president, but from
\nwhat I have observed, Megawati was not of much help for the
\npresident. In fact, I cannot recall any action for which she
\nwould deserve to be praised. So far, the Vice President hasn't
\ncome up with any concrete suggestion on how she would solve the
\nnation's burning problems, for instance the economic crisis, the
\nseparatist movements, the sectarian clashes in Maluku (which to
\nresolve she was given a special mandate by President Wahid), and
\nhow to combat corruption, collusion and nepotism.<\/p>\n
In fact, she has hardly ever made a public statement herself.
\nHeadlines that read Megawati said...\" usually turn out to mean
\n\"...was quoted as saying...\". That means that anything she \"said\"
\ncan be questioned because one can never be sure whether it was an
\nauthentic statement of hers or the opinion of one of her aides.<\/p>\n
During the past weeks, the Vice President has given a most
\nquestionable performance concerning her duties. She embarrassed
\nthe blind President Wahid in front of an international audience
\nby refusing to read out his opening speech to the G-15
\nparticipants. She also refused to attend cabinet meetings, and
\nshe didn't show up twice when new ministers were sworn in, only
\nbecause she was not comfortable with the President's cabinet
\nreshuffle. I wonder whether such behavior can be called
\nstatesmanship?<\/p>\n
If Megawati ignores the fact that she is still the Vice
\nPresident and has certain obligations, and if her so called \"good
\nadvisors\" fail to remind her accordingly, then it should be the
\nduty of the media to do so. But instead, the media tend to turn a
\nblind eye to her weak performance.<\/p>\n
Finally, I would like to remind the Post that all of its
\nreaders are intellectually mature people who are quite capable of
\nmaking up their own minds about Megawati's performance, and who
\ncannot be manipulated by one-sided reporting.<\/p>\n
MRS. HILDE MAY<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-darling-of-the-media-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }