Government under fire for ineptitude, lack of leadership
Government under fire for ineptitude, lack of leadership
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Experts and religious leaders expressed grave concerns on
Wednesday over the government's ability and seriousness in
dealing with the country's problems.
The current national leaders, they said, had lost their
credibility to run the country, and should therefore not run in
the 2004 general election.
"The people are currently living in a condition where it seems
there is no government at all. If there is no change in the
political elite, there will be no new hope for the future," said
Muslim Nasution, a scholar from the nation's second biggest
Muslim organization Muhammadiyah.
"There is no leadership. Our leaders have empty brains. They
don't have any idea how to solve the problems," he told a dialog
on "Togetherness for Humanity" organized by Kompas newspaper and
TV7 network.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has come under fire for her
poor leadership, particularly in prosecuting corrupters and
fighting against terrorist threats.
Her lack of leadership has left the people without hope for a
better future until at least 2004.
Nonetheless, most admitted that the current national leaders
would retain their power because the existing political system
did not easily allow new figures from outside circles of the
present elite to contest the direct presidential election in
2004, unless they joined political parties.
Recent surveys found that the top four national leaders --
Megawati, Vice President Hamzah Haz, People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais and convicted corrupter, House
of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung -- did not have
the capability and should not be eligible to retain power.
The research, conducted in many major cities across the
country, revealed that most Indonesians had lost trust in the
power holders for failing to address prolonged problems.
Nasution also blasted existing political parties in the DPR
for serving their own interests only to keep positions ahead of
and after the next elections, instead of struggling for the sake
of the nation as a whole.
"We must not allow the next election to become an historical
failure, because the political costs will be huge," he said
without elaborating.
Anthropologist Kartini Syahrir shared Nasution's opinion,
saying that the government was not serious in resolving the
nation's complicated problems.
"The skill is there, but the will is not there," Kartini said.
"All these problems are our mistakes because we have allowed
corruption and injustice to flourish," Kartini said.
Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif concurred with
Nasution, saying that members of the current political elite
should be replaced in the upcoming elections.
"But how to do that is the problem, as it's very difficult to
find good leaders," he told The Jakarta Post after addressing
Wednesday's dialog.
Indonesia is scheduled to hold a general election in 2004 and
there is a prevailing feeling in society that the election needs
to bring about changes in national leadership.
Syafii, respected Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid, and
Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Hasyim Muzadi have all been mentioned as
possible future leaders. However, doubts surfaced over their lack
of experience.
Kartini called on informal leaders to step up and spend much
more time helping the government address the country's
complicated problems to prevent unnecessary events ahead of the
elections.
Noted philosopher Franz Magnis Suseno said that everyone
should take responsibility for the prolonged predicament, which
included rampant violence and terror attacks, but added that the
government should share the main brunt of the blame for allowing
lawlessness.
"As long as corruption is not taken seriously, the deterrence
and enforcement against all crimes will not be effective," he
said.