Habibie's leadership so far so good: Liddle

Habibie's leadership so far so good: Liddle

JAKARTA (JP): It's been almost three month since B.J. Habibie
assumed the presidency on May 21 but many still think the man who
used to be known as Indonesia's hi-tech czar has yet to find his
feet in his new position.

People began campaigning for his removal as soon as he assumed
office. Others want him to be "more firm" and not yield meekly to
pressure groups making their demands in the name of reform.

Some groups have condemned him for what is perceived as "old
nepotism habits dying hard" because the President has appointed
people close to him to positions such as ambassadors. But then
even some of those comparatively close to him consider the man a
weak leader.

R. William Liddle, a respected political science professor at
Ohio State University and a long-time Indonesian observer, shared
with The Jakarta Post yesterday his views on Habibie's leadership
and a variety of other issues.

Question: What is your evaluation of President B.J. Habibie's
leadership so far?

Answer: I think President Habibie's leadership has been very
positive. Both in economic and political performance. And I think
the two obviously go together, because if the economic reform is
not successful and the economy gets worse, it will affect
political reform as well.

And I agree with the 15 economists who are pushing Habibie to
be clear about his support for the International Monetary Fund,
not to be so populist and so forth. I think that's right. But as
far as I am concerned, the main line of Habibie's economic policy
has been pro-IMF.

With the support of (senior economist) Widjojo Nitisastro, the
active participation of Ginandjar (Kartasasmita, the coordinating
minister for economy, finance and industry) ...that's what he
should be doing. So it's good that the economists are pressing
him, but he's on the right path.

On the political side, I think that President Habibie took a
very bold step, a very politically wise step in supporting free
elections, and next May... the timetable is right. I think it
takes that much time to begin to prepare for the elections
properly... but it has to follow the right schedule.

That's to say there has to be a debate on the election law,
which will happen next month I believe, or maybe sooner than
that. That's good, (with) proposals from the government and from
others, the DPR (House of Representatives) will create a new
election law. It will be democratic I hope. That's, as far as I
can see, President Habibie's intention to make it democratic.

So you have an election law, then you have a special session
of the MPR (People's Consultative Assembly) to change the date of
the elections (from 2002 as decided during former president
Soeharto's regime to next year). And you have the elections next
May, and you have free competition among political parties, so
those general policies are right. We will see what the actual
election law will look like.

Q: In short, so far so good?

A: Yes, so far so good is my short answer.

Q: What is likely to be the most likely pitfall on the way to
democratization?

A: We see for example the election law. If it follows the 10
percent rule that says political parties that don't get 10
percent of the seats will not be able to compete in the next
election... that's bad, that will be a big pitfall.

It will make too many enemies, political parties that fear
they might get less than 10 percent, especially regional
parties... so that's a very bad idea.

Q: The number of seats proposed for ABRI (Armed Forces) in the
DPR and MPR is 55. What do you think?

A: Well, I don't know. But I think it's inevitable for the short
term that there has to be ABRI representation. But in the long
term, if President Habibie is committed to democracy, I think
there is no place for ABRI in the DPR... maybe in the MPR, but
not in the DPR.

Q: And do you think it should be clearly stated in the new laws?

A: No, I think (that would be) too early. It's a political matter
and I think it will take some time (to decide).

Q: More than 50 parties have been set up over the past three
months. What is the significance of this?

A: I am not worried. It doesn't matter. Every democratic
transition (witnesses the emergence of) many political parties.
The political parties that win in the elections are very few.
There are many big egos... and we will see more big egos. But
the people who get supported will be very few.

Q: Are there threats of disintegration because of the many
political parties?

A: No. It's a reflection of a transition and it's a reflection of
a long period of authoritarianism in which many people have been
frustrated... politically.

Q: In which areas has President Habibie not done enough to
restore market confidence in the rupiah?

A: You know I am a political scientist, so I don't know very
much. But my impression is the foreign markets also see Habibie
as a weak president. So they understand that he had chosen the
right policies. But they don't believe he'll be in power long
enough to enforce them.

Now my own personal opinion is that Habibie is stronger, and
more likely to stay in power. My opinion is different from the
foreign markets. But my sense is that the foreign markets see
Habibie as a weak figure.

This year-end's special MPR session will help (when it
approves his presidency), but the only real help will probably
come in 1999 when we have a new president, which could be
Habibie. (aan)