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.