Breaking with Indonesia's past

Breaking with Indonesia's past

The clear victory of a former general, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in Indonesia's presidential election is good for Australia. In more than three decades, Indonesian presidents have made just two brief official visits to Australia, despite scores of prime ministerial trips the other way. The vanquished president, Megawati Soekarnoputri, had little enthusiasm for the bilateral relationship and, at one stage, went as far as refusing to take telephone calls from the Prime Minister, John Howard.

Mr Susilo was in Melbourne last year when he prefaced his vision for political reform in Indonesia with anecdotes of his son's university studies in Australia. He is likely to move swiftly to redress the historic imbalance in high-level contacts and make an early goodwill visit. This is not to suggest the differences that so often mar Australia's relationship with its closest, and most strategically important neighbour, will not persist. But better communication could go a long way to improving management of future tensions.

Whether Mr Susilo will be good for Indonesia is a more important question. Canberra is understandably keen to push security co-operation with Jakarta because of the clear threat posed by the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network. The concerns of ordinary Indonesians - poverty, health, education - are far more basic but not necessarily unconnected with terrorism's roots. Instability and extremism are fanned by under- employment which has left far too many young Indonesian men, in particular, idle, resentful and unable to support their families. This is especially so while the political elite and bureaucracy continue to use public office for personal enrichment.

Mr Susilo's rapid rise broke traditional patterns of political loyalty in Indonesia. Ms Megawati was deserted by voters who had revered her father, Sukarno, the nation's founding president. Mr Susilo must now demonstrate his resolve to break entrenched patterns of political behaviour. That means reviving Indonesia's stalled reform movement, which began with such promise and hope when Soeharto, the authoritarian president, was toppled six years ago.

-- The Sydney Morning Herald