Abdurrahman's account

Abdurrahman's account

Indonesians all over the country can draw a breath of relief.
President Abdurrahman Wahid's progress report of his first year
in office appeared to be received well enough, if not
enthusiastically, by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

In the streets of Jakarta, where tens of thousands of troops
and police were deployed ready for trouble, life proceeded as
usual despite protests by a few hundred demonstrators trying to
march on the Assembly. It seems that the embattled President has
weathered the storm of criticism -- for now.

Which is as many analysts and observers expected. For whatever
critics may say about Indonesia's first democratically elected
President, it is difficult to deny the fact that in the ten
months he has been in office, he has achieved what no other
Indonesian president before him achieved. Besides, faulting the
President for his failures to the point of impeaching him at this
point would likely do the country more harm than good.

Most notable of all, Abdurrahman has, almost single-handed,
tamed the once all-powerful military and established civilian
supremacy in the government. He also remains firmly committed to
the protection of human rights and democracy -- a commitment he
again affirmed in his speech yesterday by pledging to continue to
protect the freedom of the press.

State institutions such as the Supreme Court and the central
bank have been made independent from the executive and the
nation's legislatures, both in Jakarta and at the regional level,
and have been empowered to perform their duties as true
repositories of the people's sovereignty. The democratization of
state institutions and the granting of autonomy to the regions is
being worked on and is expected to be finalized before long.

On the other hand, there is no denying the fact that his
failures and shortcomings remain many. Many people are critical
of his government's political will to eradicate corruption -- one
of the major points on the agenda of the reform movement that
brought down the governments of president Soeharto and his
successor, president B.J. Habibie.

Sectarian strife and separatist movements in a number of
regions is another problem the government of President
Abdurrahman Wahid has failed to resolve; both remain one of
Indonesia's major headaches. Sectarian violence in the eastern
Indonesian province of Maluku, for example, has not only claimed
the lives of more than 4,000 people according to some estimates,
but also destroyed past developments there.

"Thousands of homes, places of worship and schools have been
rebuilt. But, unfortunately, provocations leading to new
conflicts have shattered all the results that were achieved,"
Abdurrahman reported. However, in the face of his failure to do
anything about the carnage of past months, his promise to keep
the country intact and preserve national unity has a somewhat
hollow sound.

In the economic field, the government has a little more to
show the public in the way of achievements. But while there has
been a reasonable improvement in the country's economic
fundamentals, political uncertainties continue to haunt the
financial and stock markets.

In all of this, it is fair to remember that Abdurrahman
inherited a host of hugely complicated problems from the previous
New Order regime. With some hindsight, it may be said that his
major shortcoming has been not his inability to govern, but
rather his erratic style of leadership and his penchant for
making controversial statements which he often later lightly
denies. All these statements create unnecessary political
complications that upset the market and have cost him at least
part of his support from his coalition partners in the Cabinet.

The President's appearance before the MPR yesterday leaves him
with a chance to improve his performance over the coming year.
There have been indications in the past weeks that he is managing
to reign in his erratic style and may well be able to continue to
do so. If so, the first step toward assuring his job until the
end of his term in 2004 may be assured.

The upcoming reshuffle of the Cabinet, which Abdurrahman
promised to the MPR, could indicate whether he has really managed
to improve his style of leadership. Let's hope this is true.
Otherwise, he may well be facing similar hurdles to the ones he
is facing now at next year's annual session of the Assembly.

By that time, the political landscape may have changed in a
manner that may not be favorable for him.