Who's to blame?<\/p>\n
For months Indonesians have been led to believe that most, if
\nnot all, of this country's present economic and political
\ntroubles are caused by squabbles among the political elite. That
\nassumption is disputed by Akbar Tandjung, the chairman of the
\nGolkar Party who is also speaker of the House of Representatives,
\nthe lower house of the Indonesian legislature.<\/p>\n
In a scathing attack contained in a speech delivered before
\nthousands of Golkar supporters on the occasion of the opening of
\nthe party's leadership meeting at the Jakarta Convention Center
\non Tuesday evening, Akbar instead blamed President Abdurrahman
\nWahid for causing this country's afflictions.<\/p>\n
\"The nation actually had high expectations that the election
\nof Abdurrahman Wahid as President would lead the country out of
\nthe crisis. But during the course of its journey, this credible
\nand legitimate government has failed to correctly interpret the
\nmessage that was mandated by the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN),\"
\nAkbar said to the cheers of thousands of Golkar supporters in the
\nConvention Hall auditorium.<\/p>\n
\"The government has issued controversial statements and
\npolicies which have been prone to create instability and
\npolitical uncertainties that in the end will make economic
\nrecovery even more difficult,\" Akbar said, citing the dismissal
\nof two Cabinet ministers, Laksamana Sukardi and Yusuf Kalla, by
\nthe President in April, and his plan to revoke the 34-year-old
\nban on communism as specific examples of the President's
\ninconsistencies.<\/p>\n
\"What has been even more worrying,\" according to the Golkar
\nchairman, \"is that there are indications that certain parties are
\ntrying to shift the blame to (bickering among) the political
\nparties, whereas the real problem is the President's
\ninconsistency.\"<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that making controversial and inconsistent
\nstatements and actions have been among President Abdurrahman
\nWahid's most glaring shortcomings in the nine months that he has
\nbeen in power.<\/p>\n
While traveling abroad, he has accused several Cabinet
\nministers of corruption and dismissed some without proof or
\ntrial. Certainly, they have been among the major causes of the
\ndoubts and confusion that is causing investors to take a
\nwait-and-see attitude before investing their money in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He told the media that some of the \"culprits\" who have been
\nstoking the unrest in Maluku and elsewhere \"are in the People's
\nConsultative Assembly\" (MPR) and would soon be arrested. He later
\nretracted the statement, telling reporters not to \"twist\" his
\nstatements.<\/p>\n
So much for Abdurrahman's inconsistencies. True as they are
\nthough, it is not entirely proper either for the country's
\npolitical elite to wash their hands of the responsibility for
\ncausing the present doubt and concern that is putting a spoke in
\nthe wheel of economic recovery. In the first place, Abdurrahman
\nWahid was elected President by some of those who are now his
\nharshest critics -- people who pretty well know, or should have
\nknown, his frail physical condition at the time he was elected.
\nFor those people to put the blame of the country's condition
\nentirely on the President's shoulders seems rather unfair, to say
\nthe least.<\/p>\n
Second, it seems that it is not only Abdurrahman Wahid who is
\nbeing inconsistent. Just two days before Akbar Tandjung made his
\nspeech at the Golkar's leadership meeting on Tuesday, all 11
\nfactions in the People's Consultative Assembly agreed in a joint
\nstatement to reduce the mounting political tension ahead of the
\nannual General Session of the Assembly. Certainly, renewing
\nattacks on the President does not serve that purpose.<\/p>\n
Speculation is rife in Jakarta at present that some factions
\nin the Assembly could still try to unseat the President in the
\nupcoming session in August, despite the fact that such a move is
\nconsidered unlikely by many. The hidden purpose of such an act,
\nsupposedly, could be to make Vice President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri president and to appoint a new vice president.<\/p>\n
Since under the Constitution the vice president automatically
\nbecomes president in the case the latter is incapacitated -- or
\nis unseated the next year or the year after that -- such a
\nscenario would provide a solid power foothold for whichever party
\nbenefits from the move.<\/p>\n
Little wonder investors are opting to wait and see how things
\nturn out. As for this country's politicians, we once again urge
\nthem to make every effort to turn themselves into real statesmen,
\nfor the sake of this long-suffering country. It is their wisdom
\nand statesmanship that will shape the fate of more than 200
\nmillion Indonesians.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/whos-to-blame-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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