Analysts urge nation to continue with reforms

YOGYAKARTA (JP): A party to celebrate the birth of the democratically elected government of popular leaders Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri may have just started, but analysts warned people on Friday not to get carried away as rocky problems still lie ahead.

The recent election of Abdurrahman Wahid as president and Megawati Soekarnoputri as vice president has brought a euphoric sense of accomplishment to many corners of the nation.

The initial response was heartening as the rupiah strengthened against the greenback on Friday morning and Megawati supporters were dancing in the streets on Thursday night after running amok a day earlier following her defeat in the presidential race.

But economic and political observer Revrisond Baswir of Gadjah Mada University warned that "the people should not be easily complacent".

He said Abdurrahman and Megawati must immediately set up a cabinet to start sorting out the country's multidimensional crisis.

"We must not sit back and fall asleep because we still have daunting tasks ahead of us," Revrisond told a political discussion here.

Analysts and politicians have called on the new government to set up a "New Order free" cabinet.

"We hope that the new government will be able to immediately set up a clean, professional and reform-minded cabinet to resolve a number of serious problems that the country is facing," a group of retired military generals, known as the National Front, said in a statement on Friday.

Sources close to Abdurrahman said that the lineup of the new cabinet would be announced in the next few days and it would include representatives of major political parties.

Analysts also said new faces, that would include top aides of Abdurrahman and Megawati, may be seen in a number of key posts including the foreign and finance ministries.

Some members from the Golkar Party are also expected in return for their support in the presidential election.

Meanwhile, Rubiyanto Misman of the General Soedirman University in Purwokerto, Central Java, said that the biggest piece of homework for the new president is to resolve investigations into the alleged corruption by former president Soeharto.

"Resolving corruption cases and reviving the economy must be the top priorities of the new government," Rubiyanto said. (05/23/byg)