Gus Dur, change or step down

Gus Dur, change or step down

From Republika

Mr. President, you keep making controversial statements while
our country is encountering a host of problems: economic crisis,
national disintegration, corruption, absence of the supremacy of
law and the street justice increasingly practiced by some members
of society. Understandably, Mr. President, a lot of people have
demanded that you step down.

It is true that constitutionally, it is through the mechanisms
of the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative
Assembly that a president can step down. If the president were
directly elected by the people, I would also be able to say, "Mr.
President, you'd better step down because your performance brings
no benefit to the people".

This does not mean, however, that the general public cannot
constructively criticize the president. How could you, Mr.
President, condescend to grant Tommy Soeharto, who has been
convicted, a meeting in a five-star hotel, just to hear him ask
for a pardon. Will you, Mr. President, do the same thing to a
thief forced to steal by his empty stomach and unemployment?
Then, Mr. President, how could you postpone the settlement of the
debts of three business magnates even though they have obviously
inflicted losses on the state. All of this has really hurt the
people's feelings.

Then, Mr. President, you'd better postpone your next plan to
go abroad. There are many things at home that need to be dealt
with. You'd better make a schedule to visit Aceh, Maluku, Irian
Jaya (Papua), East Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi. You
must put forward an agenda of peace for the sake of national
unity. Do not let them quarrel with, fight with or kill one
another. Any wish to secede from the Unitary Republic of
Indonesia is tantamount to rebellion and must therefore be
subject to firm measures. We have the Youth Pledge and this must
be upheld at any cost.

While we are clamoring for the upholding of human rights, we
must also take strict measures against those engaging in street
justice.

Let bygones be bygones. From now on, Mr. President, please
make sure that your performance and leadership are on the right
track, the track of the reform movement. Otherwise, the demands
for you to step down will snowball. Before all this happens, Mr.
President, have you never thought about organizing regular
meetings between the legislature and the government? Or perhaps
you can initiate a Ciganjur-style meeting to discuss the
condition of our beloved country. And the venue? Would Cikampek-
Karawang suit you, Mr. President?

GUS-TYANA

Karawang, West Java