Awaiting President's move

Awaiting President's move

From Rakyat Merdeka

With their hearts throbbing, the people witnessed every second of the process of the presidential election up to the election of Abdurrahman Wahid as Indonesia's fourth president. We also witnessed how the general chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Mrs. Megawati magnanimously shook hands with the new president, even though she was the candidate from the party which had won the most votes in the general election.

This marked the first step of democracy, and, despite its shortcomings, something like this has never happened before. Now the people are more knowledgeable about the stages of a presidential election. They also know that seeking a consensus through deliberation is more difficult than it was in the past. The sessions were full of interruptions and highlighted by debates.

The fact now lying before us is that Abdurrahman Wahid is our new president. The question to ask now is: What next? What the people hope to have is not just a new president, but, more importantly, they are hoping to see total reforms, including the following: - to escape from the economic crisis; - to implement the reform agenda; - to settle the cases of Aceh, East Timor, Irian Jaya and so forth; - to settle cases related to corruption, collusion and nepotism; - to establish justice-based supremacy of the law; - to achieve prosperity, create employment opportunities and eradicate narcotics.

I don't think I can enumerate in detail all the tasks ahead, because there are too many things that have to be put in order by the new government. Let's wait for the move to be taken by Gus Dur. We'll see what can be achieved in the first three months of his administration. First we must consider his cabinet line-up, and then his "crash program".

To Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, who was chosen to be the president, I wish to extend my congratulations. Please always bear in mind that there is a mountain of work, and over 200 million people are awaiting your moves.

BAMBANG SUMANTRI

Jakarta