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.