An unlikely duet
An unlikely duet
After two days of tense meetings, Indonesia's highest policy-
making body, the People's Consultative Assembly, has put its
faith in Hamzah Haz, chairman of the United Development Party
(PPP), to assist President Megawati Soekarnoputri as the
country's vice president.
In stark contrast to the election of Megawati as president
last Monday, which practically constituted a mere brief
formality, voting for the vice-presidential position proceeded
far more tediously. At the end of the two-day process Hamzah
defeated his closest rival, Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung,
by a vote of 340 to 237.
Skeptics might call it the best of the worst outcomes
possible. But then, many Indonesians also consider Thursday's
outcome the best that could have been achieved under the
country's current political constellation.
To be elected, Hamzah has had to defeat not only Akbar
Tandjung, but military candidates Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and
Agum Gumelar, and civilian politician Siswono Yudohusodo.
Among prodemocracy activists though, Akbar is too closely
associated with former president Soeharto's corrupt and
autocratic New Order regime to be anywhere near being considered
acceptable. He held a number of Cabinet positions during
Soeharto's administration and was at that time already a
prominent Golkar figure -- the New Order's political vehicle.
Many observers believe that to have Akbar Tandjung in the
vice-presidential seat would have encumbered rather than helped
President Megawati in carrying out her duties, which no one
disputes as being colossal. Indeed, many Jakartans believed it
wise to prepare themselves for massive protest demonstrations
should Akbar have been elected.
As far as the public is concerned -- if media polls can be
considered accurate -- the candidate most people wanted to be
elected vice president was Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whom
analysts have called "a thinking Army general" because of his
intellectual capabilities and wide range of interests.
Furthermore, his impressive performance in coping with the
current political crisis should not be forgotten.
Susilo, however, held an important position in the military's
ranks at the time of the New Order crackdown on Megawati's
marginalized Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction in Jakarta
in 1996. It is, therefore, doubtful whether Megawati, who is now
President of the country, would be all too happy having him as
her deputy, notwithstanding his intellectualism and impressive
performance record.
Agum Gumelar is seen to be close to Megawati, a fact which
again dates back to the days of the 1996 crackdown, during which
time he was regarded as having protected Megawati. His track
record in state affairs, however, is little known aside from his
brief stint as minister of communications in an earlier
Abdurrahman Wahid Cabinet lineup.
Hamzah Haz, on the other hand, is an experienced politician.
But he comes from what observers might describe as a conservative
Muslim background, while Megawati's strong nationalist and
secular outlook is well known. After all, she has inherited much
of her political beliefs from her father, Indonesia's founding
president Sukarno.
It may be recalled how, during the run-up to the 1999 general
election, Hamzah Haz, together with several other Muslim groups,
promoted the idea that Islam forbids a woman from becoming
president. The question that now begs to be asked is whether his
present turn-around merely constitutes a political tactic that,
in time, will prove to be detrimental to Megawati's presidency.
We certainly hope not. After all, in the past, Muslims and
nationalists have worked together fruitfully and effectively for
the good of the nation. To endlessly continue the present
bickering among political factions would only mean prolonging the
hardships under which 210 million Indonesians must live. It is
time that this country's politicians start putting the nation's
and the people's interests above their own.