Mega, NGOs and campus students

Mega, NGOs and campus students

From Sinar Pagi

In the days to come, it is unlikely that President Megawati will be embroiled in conflicts with political parties or legislators of the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly. It is more likely that she will have to deal with non-governmental organizations and university students. It is advisable, therefore, that she deals with them as prudently and wisely as possible.

The themes that NGOs and campus students will put forward will be around unsettled cases related to corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN), the existence of the Golkar Party and the fact that many people live under the poverty line.

One thing that President Megawati must be aware of is that the public has placed little trust in their representatives in the People's Consultative Assembly and the House of Representatives because these legislators have demonstrated their obvious preference to fight for their own interests rather than those of the public.

Generally void of any vested interest, NGOs and university students, when they are united, will become a big force that can help the government resolve cases connected with KKN and disband Golkar, which is believed to be the culprit for most of the problems the nation is facing today.

Now that Golkar has again shown its power -- one obvious example is its key role in making Megawati president -- and that the military and the police have asserted their position as defenders of the state and, therefore, can no longer be made a mere instrument to crush one's political foes, the only way left for Megawati to rally wide support from the public is to show her resoluteness in and capability of thoroughly resolving long- standing problems, including, first and foremost, the disbanding of the Golkar Party.

FAHMI HARAHAP

Jakarta