Megawati and the top job
Megawati and the top job
To my disbelief, Mrs. Van der Zee (The Jakarta Post, June 25)
replied to my letter of June 2, in which I argued that Mrs.
Megawati Soekarnoputri would be prudent to avoid accepting the
presidency. Mrs. Van der Zee presented Megawati as "eating
politics for breakfast". That was a worse interpretation of
reality than Alice in Wonderland. Sometimes I was a guest for
breakfast on the back terrace of Merdeka Palace, when the
children came by for a kiss from their father on the way to
school. Bung Karno separated state affairs from his family
entirely.
If the letter writer were familiar with my articles and books
about Sukarno, she would have been aware that because I was then
and consider myself today a friend of Megawati's father, I wrote
the June 2 letter. It was my duty to sound a warning. I am even
convinced that if her father knew she aimed in 1999 for the
highest job in the land, he would urge her to take a long
vacation or go and see a dukun (medicine man) on a basis of
urgency.
We in Holland adored Queen Wilhelmina as a symbol of
resistance against Hitler fascists. Of course, Indonesians adore
Megawati for standing up against Soeharto, who killed her father
through cruel isolation and imprisonment. But Megawati is not
"the reincarnation of her father" as Mrs. Van der zee seems to
assume light-heartedly.
On May 22 I attended Megawati's rally in Bandung. Her poor
performance brought tears to my eyes, recalling the times I
traveled with her father and witnessed the interplay between the
masses and him. Indonesians then felt in their bones that he
truly cared, that he wanted to be there talking to them because
he had so much to tell and to teach. Megawati reminded me in
Bandung of a lady on the road looking for a job. Incarnation? The
contrast between father and daughter was horrendous and hurting.
The sad part of the story is that Indonesians seem to have no
one else to turn to. They project in Megawati the deep trust they
placed into the leadership of Bung Karno. For Megawati to accept
this trust in his name carries maximum risks, because when you
have known the father, and meet the daughter in private, you can
but sadly conclude, that she is neither equipped nor trained to
direct the rebuilding of Indonesia from a military dictatorship
toward a legislative democracy.
No matter who her advisors would be, personal charm, good
intentions and, last but not least, her name, hardly guarantee
success. Who, in his right mind, would like to see the daughter
of a dear friend fail, without an urgent and loving warning:
Megawati, don't try, you are not equipped for the job, leave it
to professionals, because in the end, the people will suffer even
more. Your father does not approve, I am sure.
WILLEM OLTMANS
Amsterdam