Abdurrahman: Achievements and blunders

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)