Headline: So underwhelming

Headline: So underwhelming

Amien Rais, leader of an important Indonesian political party,
got it about right when asked to appraise President Abdurrahman
Wahid's speech of apology yesterday to a highly critical
parliament. He said that it was "okay".

Such faint praise is just what Wahid deserves for the 85-
minute address read on his behalf as the first annual progress
report on his own performance in office. It was long on fine
generalities, but short on specifics. It did not leave his
audience with the impression that this much-admired but also
criticized President will now seize the reins of government and
improve the quality of his rule.

In fact, he left the opposite impression. He said he will
remove himself even further from day-to-day management of
domestic affairs to concentrate on diplomacy. He conceded this
will require "a new work arrangement" if administrative drift is
to be halted, but said: "Frankly, I have no thoughts yet about
who or how the reshuffle will be carried out."

No wonder that Rais and others were underwhelmed. Some leading
criticisms of Wahid are that he doesn't recognize the country's
serious economic plight, and hasn't put a strong team in charge
of setting it right. On Tuesday, he did little more than restate
reform goals and promises to work with the International Monetary
Fund.

Wahid displayed little sense of urgency or action. There had
been hopes that the cabinet member in charge of mines and energy
would be named First Minister in charge of directing the
Government. Until something like that occurs, Wahid's marks will
remain "okay" at best.

-- The South China Morning Post