Gus Dur's address

Gus Dur's address

From Neraca

As a citizen I definitely want to assess our President. As far as public speaking is concerned, it is evident that the former presidents -- Sukarno, Soeharto, Habibie -- and now President Abdurrahman Wahid are different from one another.

Our beloved current President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid as depicted on TV during his visit to Banda Aceh recently, made my heart pound when I as his fan listened to his public speech. I was afraid he spoke erroneously.

For example, Gus Dur almost "blessed" Aceh's independence, which he then rectified in his speech "the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia". The correction which took place almost instantly indicates that he is a bright man. Or for example on the topic of Shiite and Sunni (see the reaction of the Islamic diplomat aired on the TV). Observing his manner of talking, he looked impulsive or reactive or upset, didn't he?

With regards to this I would like to know whether around the President there was, apart from his spokesman and "whisperer", his reader's team who usually read for him fresh news and state affairs and even scientific issues. Of course there was.

Anyhow one's memory capacity is limited. But it seemed that when delivering his address he was not using an ear phone, whereas the input in the form of the "whisper" through that instrument might help him and serve as a reference for him, so that his speech does not make the listeners' hearts skip a beat, especially if it were intended for international public consumption.

HJ. LATIFAH

Jakarta