Inconsistency rife in Mega's government
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Two powerful politicians have joined the bandwagon of rising criticism against the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, saying that the current administration lacks consistency.
The two politicians -- Speakers of the People's Consultative Assembly Amien Rais and the House of Representatives Akbar Tandjung -- warned on Wednesday that they hoped her government would improve in the year ahead, otherwise the trust of the people would diminish.
"The government has shown its inconsistency, doubt and indecisiveness. All those things are the dominant themes of Megawati's leadership," Amien said.
"If the government continues this inconsistency, there will be no progress. We hope the administration will take consistency to be its basic character," he added.
Amien, however, refused to describe this situation to be a symptom of friction among members of the Cabinet.
Correspondingly, Akbar suggested that the government of Megawati should have the courage to outline its priority for the coming years.
With regard to the prolonged crisis, Akbar, who is also the Golkar Party chairman, reiterated that the economy should be a top priority in order for the nation to return to normal.
Those statements from both Amien and Akbar highlighted criticism launched earlier by several non-governmental organizations and some student groups as part of a year-end evaluation.
Many of the critics said that the government of Megawati lacks the will to combat corruption, collusion and nepotism, popularly known as KKN.
Megawati was accused just last week of nepotism following the appointment of her husband Taufik Kiemas to lead a ministerial delegation to China.
Indecisiveness also appeared to be behind the delayed plan of the government to raise fuel prices scheduled to be effective as of Tuesday.
Megawati also drew the ire of Papuans after she canceled her trip to the province of Papua (the province formerly known as Irian Jaya) despite high expectations from the local people for their voice to be heard, especially after the murder of Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay in November, which is yet to be solved.
The President is also being roundly criticized by huge sectors of the public for considering an annulment of the corruption case against former president Soeharto. There has also been much discussion about whose idea it was.
Amien, who is also chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), added that the government seemed to lack the will to continue its efforts in law enforcement, specifically against KKN, citing that no cases have been brought to court during her tenure.
"The President and the ministers have had some disputes as well and have tried to avoid their responsibility (of leading the nation). This is wishy-washy," Amien said.