Dashed hopes: Megawati seen as failed reformer
Dashed hopes: Megawati seen as failed reformer
Miyuki Hokugo, Jakarta Correspondent, The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo
It's been a rough year for Megawati Soekarnoputri as Indonesia's president.
While she has managed to secure aid from the international community, she has failed to show progress in the expected areas of democratization and economic reform. And her popularity has suffered as a result.
Unhappy with her authoritative attitude, the Indonesian public has begun to call the President -- whose last name means "daughter of Sukarno"-- Soehartoputri, or "daughter of (former dictator) Suharto."
"The donor nation's representative rode the subway to the conference, while the aid-receiving nation's delegate came in a fancy car," said Nurcholis Madjid, a prominent scholar of Islam, referring to an international aid conference for Indonesia, held in Paris in April. The professor has since continued to criticize the Megawati government as resembling the dictatorial regime of Soeharto.
Megawati basing can be heard everywhere. The President is known to be so secluded that even her closest aides have a difficult time scheduling an appointment with her, and she hardly ever explains her policies to the public.
Bureaucrats are beginning to repeat a quote often used during the Soeharto's dictatorship- "Whatever the President wants."
Unlike her predecessor former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who tried to strip the military and former political forces of authority, Megawati makes no strong calls for reform. In fact, the military reforms started by the previous administration have been put on the back burner and the military's influence over the current administration is growing stronger by day.
Reforms to the country's judiciary and police system are also going nowhere.
In Indonesia, court sentences often change two or even three times, with the judge suspected of taking bribes at every turn. A United Nations official reporting to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on a fact-finding mission to Jakarta said that Indonesia's legal system is in worse condition than expected.
On July 23, the first anniversary of Megawati's assuming the presidency, The Jakarta Post published a front-page article which criticized Megawati as "trading reform for stability."
Despite the public's efforts to focus the President's attention on reform, Megawati's top concern now is a power struggle between her husband Taufik Kiemas, and State Secretary Bambang Kesowo. The two were foes from the start, but their ties have been especially strained since Kiemas accused Kesowo of being a burden to Megawati.
Kesowo is an elite bureaucrat from the President's Office, in charge of Megawati's administrative work since she was vice president.
Kesowo's authority has grown to the point where insiders say it is impossible to met Megawati unless Megawati likes you.
Kiemas, who is in charge of coordinating with other political parties and handling complaints on behalf of Megawati, has been trying to strip Kesowo of his powers.
Caught in a bind to please both major players in her administration, Megawati has kept silent on the conflict. The political forces that boosted Megawati to the presidency one year ago are also starting to fall apart.
Political parties are moving in their own direction ahead of the 2004 presidential elections. The parties still support Megawati, but mostly because they believe it is to their benefit to stay on the President's side until the general elections.
Vice President Hamzah Haz, who leads the nation's Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), is also preparing for presidential election. He is trying to project an image of himself as a representative of Muslim forces by meeting with radical Islamic leaders.
Megawati is keenly watching the Vice President's moves, raising fears of a clash between the two leaders.
The President is also creating conflicts within the Indonesian Democratic of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the ruling party that she heads. She provoked protests from PDI Perjuangan supporters when she blocked a special committee charged with investigating allegations of public-fund misappropriation by House Speaker Akbar Tandjung.
And that's not all. Megawati declared her support for Lt. Gen. (ret.) Sutiyoso, the incumbent Jakarta governor in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election in September, despite Sutiyoso's involvement in cracking down her party leadership in 1996, before the party's Jakarta chapter announced who it was backing. While both moves were aimed at maintaining political stability, the immediate result was to shake the support system.
Now Megawati is now approaching a point where she is regarded similar to Soeharto, in a total contrast to her previous image as symbol of democratization and reforms.
We may get an inkling of the answer at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) general assembly starting on Aug. 1. At the top of the session's agenda is constitutional reform aimed at changing the way the nation chooses its president. The parties have already agreed to change the system to a direct presidential election by the people instead of within the MPR. But the parties are split over what to do if no candidate wins a majority of the votes.
Muslim parties led by Vice President Hamzah Haz and MPR Speaker Amien Rais are proposing a provision aimed at strengthening the Islamic cast of the Constitution, raising the concern of Megawati's aides. This move is aimed at shaking up Megawati, who has always stressed the importance of nationalism.
The debate over the revision, the fourth in Indonesia's history, is expected to conclude this session. There are reports that if the debate ends in a deadlock, the parties will place all the blame on the ruling PPP and immediately launch an anti- government campaign.
A prominent Cabinet member fears that the constitutional reform will trigger chaos.
The President plans to weather the storm by attempting to postpone constitutional reform and reshuffle the Cabinet, hoping to win consent from political parties in exchange for Cabinet seats.