If I were Gus Dur

If I were Gus Dur

Recently President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said that if he
were forced to resign, six provinces would proclaim their
independence from the Republic of Indonesia.

It is indeed true that there are separatist tendencies in
certain provinces, but a president should not capitalize on those
destructive tendencies in order to cling to power. It reeks of
blackmail.

As a national and spiritual leader he should instead advise
the instigators of separatism not to proceed with their
aspirations, even if he were not president any longer. It would
be an unhealthy precedent for the integrity of Indonesia as a
unitary state to depend on a certain person.

It is well known that Gus Dur is very stubborn in holding his
position. He has stated several times that he will not surrender
his presidency, which prompts me to question whether really he is
a man of principle or just enjoying power. The answer to that
question has already been given by Gus Dur himself.

He said not long ago that if he were humiliated in public he
would fight to regain the presidency after being impeached, by
campaigning right from the moment of his impeachment.

From that statement it is clear that egoistic factors and not
national interests are the main motivation for his fight to
remain in power, or, if he is impeached, to regain that power.

He should learn from Bung Karno and Pak Harto who gave up the
presidency for the sake of preventing Indonesia from breaking
apart.

BUSONO SUDARSO

Jakarta