Abdurrahman and Megawati, Indonesia's dynamic duo

Abdurrahman and Megawati, Indonesia's dynamic duo

By Kornelius Purba

JAKARTA (JP): Rarely, in any country in the world, will you
find the two top state executives as complex and yet congenial as
Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Their reported spats resemble the love-hate relationship of a
brother and a sister, yet their fight to build Indonesia anew can
be likened to the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin.

It was President Abdurrahman himself who recently described
that nothing must come between the dwi-tunggal, or duo, between
himself and Megawati.

Several times it has been reported that Vice President
Megawati was upset with President Abdurrahman Wahid, including
during the formation of the latest Cabinet in August.

But such is the nature of their relationship that the
President will visit Megawati's residence and stay there for few
hours.

Usually things are patched up.

A senior official who cares for the Vice President's household
affairs, recounted how Megawati would receive Abdurrahman but
refuse to talk to him.

Abdurrahman would then resort to tried and proven tactics.

"I'm very hungry. I miss your cooking. I come here just
because I want to eat, please," the official said recounting
Abdurrahman.

The president would keep insisting that Megawati cook for him,
or at least make some nasi goreng (fried rice).

"Despite still being angry with him, Ibu then usually cooks
for him. And after eating, the President would pretended not to
realize that Ibu is still upset and then make several jokes."

The novelty of their relationship is even more unique in that
they were political competitors during the presidential election
in October 1999.

Crying

The two share a long history together.

Abdurrahman's father, Wahid Hasyim, was the country's first
minister of religious affairs under Sukarno who is Megawati's
father.

An ulema, close to both of them, recounted a quaint moment
just before the presidential election, where both Abdurrahman and
Megawati cried at the same time but for totally different
reasons.

The ulema, who resides in Jakarta, said the occasion was when
he accompanied them to visit Sukarno's tomb in East Java.

At the time Abdurrahman was expected to officially endorse her
in the presidential race.

However at the tomb Abdurrahman whispered to the ulema that he
had just received a revelation from Sukarno that he should be the
next president.

Abdurrahman did not inform of this new 'development' to
Megawati, who was sitting next to him.

"Gus Dur joyfully cried because he felt Sukarno supported him,
meanwhile Megawati was also crying because she had not received
any endorsement from Gus Dur," the ulema said.

Since attaining the presidency Abdurrahman has often joked
that Megawati prefers to stay at the official presidential
residence of Merdeka Palace rather than at her current residence.

He is of course referring to the fact that Megawati grew up at
the Merdeka Palace when her father was president.

The styles of the two are also quite contrasting, for example
the selection of their respective inner circle staff.

Determined to end the powerful hold of the State Secretariat,
the President when he took office insisted that he did not want
the State Secretariat to become a state within a state.

He installed Ratih as presidential secretary, and decided the
duties of State Secretary (at that time Ali Rahman) was only to
handle state archives.

But Abdurrahman seemed to get carried away eventually
extending the bureaucratic chain which he initially wanted to
dissolve and increased the number of secretaries and bodies.

Now the bureaucratic situation at the Palace is more or less
just the same when compared to the Soeharto era.

Megawati, probably due to her inexperience in government
affairs, appointed Bambang Kesowo a senior secretariat official
under president Soeharto, to lead her team.

There are only a few of her personal associates who have been
promoted to official positions in her staff.

In their work the vice presidential staff have arguably proven
to be more effective as the presidential palace staff resembles a
revolving door with officials being appointed and dismissed with
increasing regularity.

At times the president must have glanced behind his shoulder,
either suspiciously or enviably, at the vice presidential
secretariat staff.

A few months ago he summoned Bambang Kesowo to Merdeka Palace
and asked him about the Vice President's team.

Bambang however played down the meeting, saying the President
just wanted to get more information from him.

"It is just normal for the President to summon me. He wanted
to get first-hand information from the officials," Bambang told
The Jakarta Post.

But the affectionate kinship between the two is evident both
in public and on private occasions.

It is Megawati who discreetly nudges the president when he
dozes-off during long government meetings or consultations with
legsilators.

In a consultation meeting at the State Palace earlier this
year, the Vice President had to several times shake Abdurrahman
as he dozed off during House of Representatives Speaker Akbar
Tandjung's lengthy speech.

Akbar, seated opposite the President, pretended not to realize
what was going on.

Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, probably describes the
relationship best.

"Gus Dur is our elder brother," Taufik explained.

Despite the political trials and tribulations of the past
year, that very sense of kinship remains intact and the bond
strong between the two of them.