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