Abdurrahman: Achievements and blunders

Thousands of people gathered outside the Merdeka Palace on Thursday to show their support for former president Abdurrahman Wahid. Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis looks at both sides of the popular leader.

Question: Abdurrahman Wahid, while addressing his supporters on Thursday, vowed to continue struggling for democracy. Will he be able to do so?

Answer: Gus Dur is an ordinary person who had many achievements and made many blunders as president. His last mistake was the issuance of the decree.... He should have been aware that though he had... the right to interpret what situations were a threat to the nation, he could not issue such a decree which was not in line with the constitutional process. He made a big mistake in the last minutes of his presidency... people won't forget that he acted against democracy....

Will Gus Dur survive as a politician?

Gus Dur is known as a politician and a respected religious leader of certain values -- values of simplicity, honesty and so on... Most do not regard him as a pure politician.

Q: Your comments on his presidency?

A: In a flashback over about 20 months, from his election as president in 1999, he made significant steps regarding military- civilian relations... he succeeded in bringing back civil supremacy. The military was still playing a role (in politics) in some aspects, but what Gus Dur did was a great achievement.

We also saw greater social pluralism. Gus Dur paid a great deal of attention to the diverse ethnic groups, cultures, dialects, religions and so on -- he is a liberal democrat. He is also a humanist who showed his concern for human rights in East Timor, though he was not so firm in Papua and Aceh.

At least he tried to provide space for local (representatives) to hold dialogs with the government.

He also dissolved the ministry of social affairs. The ministry dealt mostly with natural disasters, poverty and social problems such as gambling; he wanted society to deal with the problems.

Q: Could you elaborate more on the civil-military relationship?

A: The doctrine of the dual function of the military clearly stated the military functions as the "stabilizer and dynamist" in politics, and gives the military the right to participate in politics. So (under former president Soeharto) the military was very dominant in the Cabinet, local administrations and other state institutions. The minister of justice and the attorney general, many provincial governors and ambassadors were from the military...

Gus Dur changed this around, saying in effect that the military should follow civilians as the leaders of the nation. I think what happened in East Timor was a turning point, that the military lost its credibility.

Q: There was no press censorship under Gus Dur, but he frequently accused the press of misquoting him. Your comment?

A: Soeharto was fond of calling people in the media, chief editors, and then he canceled publication permits. Gus Dur only criticized the media for "rephrasing" his statements. That's his political style... he does not want to be condemned.

This was the consequence of him using the media too much. But not all his statements (from Gus Dur or his spokesmen) were useful for the media. I don't think the nation has ever had a president with four spokesmen.

They gave statements almost every day, while Gus Dur himself made statements after almost every Friday prayers.

Q: Did Gus Dur make significant progress in fighting corruption?

A: There have been reports (from the Supreme Audit Agency) that corruption has not ended at, for example, the central bank and the State Secretariat. There has not been any progress in stopping corruption.

Q: What about his steps for economic recovery?

A: He wasn't a president who paid much attention to the economy... He was concerned for the poor but he did not have a good, comprehensive understanding of recovery. And he received much misleading information from his inner circle. I think he was the victim of misleading information.

In addition to political problems, the frequent reshuffling of the Cabinet and policy changes also stalled the economic recovery.

Q: What about his measures in human rights and legal supremacy?

A: Both were his weaknesses. Remember that he met with Tommy (Soeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra) about the Bulog scandal. He also ordered a halt to the legal action against three businessmen. By doing so, whether he was aware of it or not, Gus Dur sacrificed legal supremacy.

Once Gus Dur made a radical statement saying he wanted to "import" judges to replace local judges. This statement angered nationalists, but others were cheered because they were frustrated by corruption (in the judiciary). But people lost their trust when he ignored legal supremacy ....

In human rights affairs, he showed a firm stand in the case of East Timor and (the shooting of students) in the Trisakti and Semanggi cases. But he did not pay much attention to Aceh, Maluku and Kalimantan.

Q: Your opinion of President Megawati Soekarnoputri?

A: People should give her a chance. She has the leadership and the will to bring about economic recovery, the eradication of corruption and legal supremacy. She will face continuous scrutiny from the public. So whenever she displays a lack of seriousness she will instantly be criticized. (I. Christianto)