The queen is dead, hail the new republic<\/p>\n
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The people have spoken. The message clear and overwhelming:
\nMegawati, pack your bags!<\/p>\n
She helped sooth the volatility of the young democracy, but
\nMegawati's patrician manner while in power endeared her to few
\nand her aloofness alienated many. Despite ascending to power as
\nan agent of the wong cilik (common people), Megawati's three-year
\nrule only perpetuated the kind of detached and autocratic
\ngovernment that has typified Indonesian leadership since the time
\nof her father. From first president Sukarno's personality cult,
\nSoeharto's \"kingship\" to Abdurrahman Wahid's ecclesiastical self-
\nrighteousness, the country has had sovereigns rather than leaders
\nof the republic.<\/p>\n
In many ways, the system helped perpetuate the leadership of
\nthe new nobility -- Sukarno never faced elections and, like his
\ndaughter, was effectively appointed president; Soeharto's
\nleadership was sustained by manipulating the electoral system;
\nB.J. Habibie became president by default; Abdurrahman was chosen
\nas president through political negotiations; while Megawati rose
\nto power on the back of a constitutional coup.<\/p>\n
That is not to say that the president-elect is Indonesia's new
\nman of the people. That is a distinction he will have to earn,
\nnot inherit. Stronger checks and balances have been put in place
\nto reduce the potential for abuse of power. But Soeharto has
\ntaught us how vulnerable to subversion constitutions can
\nbe.<\/p>\n
Ultimately it will be the commitment to democratic ideals,
\neven at the price of one's own power, that will determine whether
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono can resist the corruption that often
\ncomes hand in hand with power.<\/p>\n
With the elections over, it is now possible to objectively
\nseparate the campaign ballyhoo from the substance. It is worth
\ncritically assessing the personality of Indonesia's sixth
\npresident to predict possible pitfalls that could lead him to
\nstray from the democratic path.<\/p>\n
Like Megawati during the initial phase of her political
\ncareer, Susilo carries with him the hopes of the people. But the
\ncomparison ends there.<\/p>\n
Susilo, unlike Megawati, was trained and educated to lead.
\nRespect comes not from lineage, but from his career as a military
\nofficer to astute minister. In other words, people listen to what
\nhe says out of respect, not out of fear.<\/p>\n
He finished top of his class at the Armed Forces Academy in
\n1973, graduating with a record number of merit medals. He was
\nthen sent to Fort Benning in the United States to attend an
\nAirborne and Ranger Course.<\/p>\n
Susilo's military career was helped along by his marriage to
\nthe daughter of Lt. Gen. Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, a respected officer
\nand once an associate of Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Susilo's frontline experience included tours of duty in East
\nTimor. His ability to manage men of different backgrounds shone
\nthrough when he commanded the 744th Infantry Battalion, which was
\nlargely composed of East Timorese. He then went back to school,
\nattending the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College, and
\nWebster University, where he earned a Masters Degree in
\nManagement.<\/p>\n
He continued his distinguished career by heading a UN
\ncontingent in Bosnia, and then the Sriwijaya Military Command in
\nSouth Sumatra. The pinnacle of his military career came in 1998,
\nwhen he became Armed Forces' chief of sociopolitical affairs, and
\nlater chief of territorial affairs.<\/p>\n
Though he is thought to be relatively untainted by the sort of
\nself-enrichment schemes normally associated with individuals of
\nhis standing in Indonesia, we should continue to keep an eye out
\nfor past associations that could come back to haunt his
\npresidency.<\/p>\n
It was widely rumored that to offset his lack of a party
\nnetwork and infrastructure, he has become increasingly surrounded
\nby people engaged in ambiguous activities over the last six
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
Much has also been made of Susilo being a non-civilian, and
\ntherefore a potential propagator of militarism. The military is
\ncertainly near and dear to him. It is not a profession for him,
\nit is his life. This became obvious in 1999, when Susilo was
\nuncomfortable being made Minister of Mines and Energy as it would
\nmean early retirement from the military.<\/p>\n
But to say that he has militaristic tendencies would be
\ninaccurate. He is genuinely perceived as one of the few generals
\nin the TNI who is more a thinker than a combat specialist. Since
\nthe late 1980s, Susilo has been one of the Army's leading
\nadvocates of reform. At the Army's Staff and Command School in
\n1989, he was already submitting proposals urging the need for a
\nnew paradigm -- focusing on professionalism, and respect for
\nhuman rights and democracy -- to be introduced in the following
\ndecade.<\/p>\n
The flaws he has that may affect his performance as president
\nstem more from personal traits, reinforced by his military
\nbackground.<\/p>\n
Another of Susilo's notable traits is his dogged dedication to
\nthe concept of a unitary nation state. Islam might be his
\nprescribed faith, but his true faith is the military's ideals;
\nits \"commandments\", which include safeguarding Pancasila and the
\nterritorial integrity of the unitary republic, are non-negotiable
\ndogma for him.<\/p>\n
That is not to say that Yudhoyono has the makings of an ultra-
\nnationalist. Far from it, his overseas education has given him a
\nbroad-based view of the world.<\/p>\n
On the surface, one could sum up Yudhoyono as having the
\nmakings of, at the very worst, a benevolent autocrat. But there
\nis often a fine line between being a strong ruler and a simple
\ndespot.<\/p>\n
One should also note that in the last five years, Yudhoyono's
\nqualities as a first-rate officer have put him head and shoulders
\nabove his fellow cabinet members. He was truly a primus inter
\npares in the government. Few in his close circle can challenge
\nhim.<\/p>\n
It will be interesting to see whether as president he can find
\nconfidants to whom he is willing to delegate authority and, more
\nimportantly, power, or whether he will continue to micro-manage
\nmajor issues as he has tended to do thus far. The presence of
\nJusuf Kalla as vice president could be a telling factor in this
\nregard.<\/p>\n
Combined with a strong mandate in the election, such a
\nnarcissistic environment could eventually create an unhealthy
\nclimate in which the seeds of despotism can thrive. Coupled with
\na sense of self-righteousness born of chauvinistic nationalism,
\nthese are conditions that could help create the kind of persona
\non which a personality cult is built.<\/p>\n
The writer is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-queen-is-dead-hail-the-new-republic-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }