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.