A new leader, a new hope

Now that the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has appointed Megawati Soekarnoputri as our new president, there is still this nagging question of whether she is really cut out for the job. We mean no disrespect toward her but the problems, or challenges, facing her today are so complex and daunting that no woman, or man for that matter, can be expected to resolve them in a short period of time, certainly not in the time given to this elected post. What Indonesia probably needs today is not a President Mega, but a mega-president.

Nevertheless, Megawati's election on Monday at least resolved the leadership crisis that had engulfed this nation for most of the last 12 months. Indonesia has plunged deeper into the political and economic crises because of the lack of an effective leadership in the administration this past year.

The power struggle between President Abdurrahman Wahid and his political rivals has consumed so much time and energy of our politicians that they barely have had time to address other far more pressing problems all this time.

Now that we have a new leader firmly in place following a democratic process, the nation's politicians should put the power struggle behind them, at least for now, and start addressing all these big problems that have been put on hold for most of the past year. Resolving the leadership crisis is crucial for it probably accounts for about half of the problems of this country, but addressing the other half will be equally tough, if not tougher.

The new President will need to muster all her skills to tackle so many problems simultaneously. She also needs a capable team to help her navigate through these problems. Most of all, she will need the support of the people to lead the nation out of the current crisis and put us back on the road to prosperity.

It would be pointless trying to rank the problems facing Megawati in terms of priority. These problems have been neglected for so long that almost all of them require immediate attention.

National reconciliation certainly stands out among the most pressing problems. Abdurrahman's impeachment has left a very bitter feeling among his supporters. His National Awakening Party (PKB) still holds a sizable 11 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives and it therefore has to be involved, if not in the executive body, then certainly in the legislature.

Then there is the economic recovery program which has been put on hold because the International Monetary Fund (IMF) kept delaying the disbursement of its loan tranche to Indonesia on the grounds of lingering suspicions of the government's commitment to make meaningful reforms in the economic and financial sector.

Fighting between the military and separatist rebels in Aceh must be stopped and a peaceful resolution to the problem found. Tension in Irian Jaya, another province where the demand for secession is also mounting, must be defused. Sectarian and ethnic conflicts in Maluku and Kalimantan must end soon.

Finally there is the agenda for political, social and legal reforms, part and parcel of the movement to build a civil society. Still on the legal front, Indonesia must prosecute and punish those who committed human rights abuses and large-scale corruption in the past.

Is President Megawati really up to the challenges confronting the nation today? Only time will tell.

She was virtually pushed into the position by circumstances rather than by design. She became president more by default because as vice president she automatically took over following Abdurrahman's ouster. This means that Megawati is inheriting all the problems, not only the legacy of 30 years of Soeharto's misrule, but also the legacy of nearly two years of Abdurrahman's incompetent management of the government.

Whatever reservations people may have of Megawati's competence and leadership capability, she won the people's mandate through a democratic process in the MPR. She may not be the mega-president that we all wished for, but she has the support and the goodwill of the majority of the people in this country. At the very least, her election has given the nation new hope.

Given the daunting tasks at hand, this is not a job that any person, man or woman, can do alone. Megawati's success, to a large extent, will therefore depend on the continued support and goodwill that mark the start of her presidency.