Choosing a new leader
Choosing a new leader
More than a year after he was chosen to become President of
Indonesia, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid is facing increasingly
harsh criticism from almost every imaginable quarter.
Amien Rais, for example, the chairman of the National Mandate
Party and Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR),
who was instrumental in bringing Gus Dur to power, has even found
it necessary to apologize to the Indonesian people for having put
Abdurrahman in the nation's highest leadership position.
It must be admitted that during the 13 months that he has been
President, Gus Dur has made mistakes, and even some blunders,
such as dismissing two of his most capable and most respected
cabinet ministers some time ago on the basis of dubious
information received.
It is also true that Gus Dur as President of the Republic of
Indonesia has shown a rather disconcerting penchant for making
statements that upset not only many of this country's leading
politicians, but the financial and stock markets as well.
The question is, what is to be done to correct the situation?
To answer this question, the foremost consideration must be
the general well-being of the Indonesian people at large. From
the onset of the economic crisis in 1997, a succession of
cabinets have been trying -- not very successfully -- for more
than two years to remedy the situation and put Indonesia's house
back in order.
There is no denying that the first signs of an impending
economic recovery are now visible. Exports are growing and
certain sectors of industry are showing some initial signs of
recovery.
Nevertheless, the time for exuberance is still a long way
away. Economic indices remain highly dependent on minute-to-
minute political developments. Currently, the noisy demands for
Gus Dur to step down and the possibility of a special session of
the People's Consultative Assembly being called should the
President refuse to do so, are sending the national currency, the
rupiah, tumbling down.
The situation is not helped by the continuing violence in Aceh
and Maluku, and the outbreak of communal violence in new trouble
spots such as, most recently, West Kalimantan.
Certainly there are negative points aplenty that can be scored
against President Abdurrahman Wahid. Under such circumstances
people naturally tend to overlook the positive achievements
Abdurrahman has attained in the 13 months of his presidency.
One point deserves the most serious consideration, though,
before Indonesians start in earnest to think about removing Gus
Dur from office: what would the consequences of such a move be
and what options would there be next?
In our opinion, none of the political leaders Indonesia
possesses at the moment have as yet displayed the qualities or
garnered enough of the experience necessary to become president.
That, after all, was also the reason why Gus Dur was elected by
the majority of members of the People's Consultative Assembly in
September/October last year, in spite of his obvious physical
handicap.
The important point to consider is this: Why not begin by
trying to improve the quality of the present national leadership
by whatever means is necessary so that the principle of good
governance is assured, rather than thinking about such a drastic
step as removing the President from office in mid-term?
It would be too costly a price for the Indonesian people to
pay if they had once again to go through the enervating process
of making a national leadership change. Until Indonesians can see
a suitable leader emerge, such a process could take some time.