Gus Dur's govt fragile: Observers, intellectuals

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid's government and Cabinet has a lot to do with the absence of opposition parties, according to political observers and intellectuals.

Nurcholish Madjid, a noted Muslim intellectual, said that despite its legitimacy, the current government was quite fragile and this had a lot to do with the personality of Abdurrahman, who is widely recognized as a reconciliation figure.

"Gus Dur's reconciliation Cabinet is quite fragile and brittle and this is evident in its overdue response to managing the religious conflict in Ambon," he said at a seminar on opposition in Indonesia here on Saturday.

According to Nurcholish, the presence of an opposition is much needed to help put the President and his administration on track.

"The presence of an opposition is a must. But an opposition is not meant to be a destructive force aimed at toppling the government," he said.

He asserted that the presence of an opposition should not be regarded as taboo, noting that by nature human beings divided into two groups, male and female, who have a relationship on a dialectical basis.

"So, the world would be devastated without a balance between ruling groups and opposing ones," he said, referring to the balanced power between the United States and Russia.

Nurcholish, also a professor at the Paramadina Islamic Institute, called on all sides to exercise patience with the way the President was leading the nation.

"All sides should bear in mind that Abdurrahman, a Muslim figure we have known as Gus Dur, is the first president elected democratically. We should give him more time to make adjustments in leading a pluralistic nation despite his trial-and-error approach in the policy-making process," he said.

Sarbini Somawinata, former rector of the University of Indonesia, was more severe in his prescription for the government's ailments.

He said revolutionary changes, and even a coup, may be needed to topple the present government because of its failure in containing the threat of disintegration.

"Gus Dur and his government is in fact unable to manage conflicts in Aceh, Ambon and other provinces. The conflicts could trigger a national disaster if they are not managed well. The current Indonesia needs not a national leadership a la kyai (Muslim elder) but a strong one that is skilled in managing conflict," he remarked.

Sarbini, also a member of the Indonesian Socialist Party (PSI), warned that the nation was on the verge of disintegrating because regional conflicts, unemployment, poverty and other economic problems were not well managed.

He said former president Soeharto's sudden resignation in May 1998 was the main factor that caused the multicrises.

"All sociopolitical infrastructure established over many years after the country's independence has been annihilated," he said.

Eep Syaifulloh, a political observer from the University of Indonesia, concurred and said an internal opposition within the administration was needed to give constructive criticism to the President.

"Internal opposition could be established by political parties such as the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Golkar Party," he said.

Eep also said the questionable policies and laggard response to regional conflict were indications of the government's fragility.

"Gus Dur's personality seems 'too compromising' but he has the potential to be authoritarian. He claims he is open to criticism, but he has never listened to his critics," he said.

Noted historian Ong Hok Ham said the House of Representatives (DPR) could serve as an opposition in line with its control function, to ensure a check and balance existed between the government and the legislative body.

"Of course, the political tradition since former first president Sukarno's era until now does not preach about the opposition culture. But an opposition role could be played by the legislative body," he said. (rms)