Abdurrahman's Australian trip

Abdurrahman's Australian trip

It is not often that one hears of President Abdurrahman Wahid
altering his overseas travel itinerary in the face of criticism.
His decision, therefore, to cut short his upcoming visit to
Australia, even if only by a few days, is something that
Indonesians would do well to appreciate. An official visit by an
Indonesian head of state and head of government to Australia is
easier to justify than some of the trips the President has in the
past 17 months made to more than 50 countries around the globe.

Whatever some Indonesians may think or say about Australia and
its -- to Indonesians -- often antagonistic policies, Australia
is one of Indonesia's closest neighbors. It is wealthy and
advanced and it is endowed with industrial, economic and cultural
resources that Indonesians could use to their advantage and to
the advantage of their country. In short, Australia provides a
close and convenient portal to the West for Indonesia.

Still, as may be expected, the President's latest travel plan
has been met with considerable criticism at home. To be sure,
there are ample grounds for the criticism. The country is in a
mess. The economic outlook is bleak, with business slack and the
national currency sinking further. Violence and civil strife
continue to disrupt entire communities in Maluku and Kalimantan.
In Irian Jaya secessionists remain active and in Aceh they even
show signs of growing military power. Abdurrahman Wahid himself
is facing further censure and even possible impeachment by the
national legislature.

However, as presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar explained it
to the press, it was unlikely that the Australian trip would be
canceled this time as it had already been postponed several times
before due to political differences. "It is essential that we
stick to the schedule, otherwise we will have postponed the trip
to Australia three times. So, maybe by way of compromise, this
trip could be shortened," he explained. "First, we don't want the
President to spend too much time away for obvious reasons;
second, we want to save money and cut costs. But it cannot be too
short, because besides meeting officials, the Australian public
also wants to hear Gus Dur (President Abdurrahman Wahid)."

For the purpose of saving money, Abdurrahman will use a
commercial flight instead of his special presidential plane. And
instead of taking the usual 50 to 60 people with him on his
Australian trip, the President will be traveling with an
entourage of only 20. The presidential secretariat has hopefully
learned its lesson from Abdurrahman's most recent overseas trip
to Saudi Arabia, when the already beleaguered President came
under fire following the disclosure that US$300,000 had been
delivered to officials traveling with him. Presidential aides had
to explain that the money came from the presidential
secretariat's own coffers and that it was needed to cover the
"additional expenses" of the presidential entourage.

So, once again the President will leave the running of this
troubled country to Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri and the
Cabinet for the six days or so that Abdurrahman will be away on
yet another overseas trip. Not that it is likely to make much of
a difference. But, important as Australia may be to Indonesia and
much as this country needs Australia's support, most Indonesians
seem to feel that, in times of serious trouble, a President
should stay at home to look after the country and cope with any
unanticipated emergencies.

To the majority of Indonesians, the President's propensity to
leave the country even while it is being swamped by adversity of
every sort, makes it look as though the President has failed to
comprehend the seriousness of the situation here. Ignoring this
reality will certainly not help strengthen the President's hand
in dealing with his adversaries at home.