Megawati faces huge challenges

Megawati faces huge challenges

By Aleksius Jemadu

BANDUNG (JP): As a political reformist and candidate for
national leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri has some advantages that
others are lacking. First, she is widely accepted as a living
symbol of justified resistance against Soeharto's authoritarian
regime. President Habibie's insistence in rejecting Megawati's
faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party (or PDI Perjuangan)
only strengthened her position.

Second, the public tend to regard Megawati as a unifying
figure amid the increasing threat to national unity. She is
believed to have the ability to keep the nation united, not only
because of the popularity of her father but also, unlike other
political reformists, because she has no past record of
representing a narrow or sectarian spectrum of political
interest.

Third, there is a popular belief that in order to get rid of
all negative practices inherited from the old political regime,
Indonesia does need a brand new leader, untainted by Soeharto's
influence. President Habibie's main liability is that he was one
of the beneficiaries of Soeharto's corrupt regime. No wonder
then, if more and more people are putting their trust in Megawati
to build a totally new political system free of corruption,
collusion and nepotism.

However, it would be a great mistake if PDI Perjuangan were to
capitalize solely on Megawati's personal influence. A modern
political party knows no indispensable figure. The experiences of
Cory Aquino in the Philippines and Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan
show us that personal popularity does not count much in politics.
The ability of a political party to respond effectively to
people's demands and its flexibility in dealing with new
challenges are essential if it wants to secure uninterrupted
support from the people.

It is not enough for PDI Perjuangan to present itself as a
mere antithesis to the old political regime. In the long run such
self-identification may not be effective in attracting people's
support. There is a need to establish a clear and comprehensive
policy platform, which can represent the party's strategy in
dealing with the nation's global challenges.

Reviving Sukarno's political idealism, like Indonesian
nationalism and populism, may help the party in mobilizing
political support from the people of lower classes. However, the
party should be able to reformulate these old ideas so that they
might be relevant and workable in this era of globalization. A
certain level of pragmatism might be needed to cover a wider
spectrum of political and economic interests in society.

PDI Perjuangan may learn an important lesson from the
experience of the socialist parties in Europe (Great Britain,
Germany, France and Italy), which defeated a long domination of
more conservative parties. Two examples are particularly
interesting. The Labor Party of Prime Minister Tony Blair in
Great Britain managed to end the seventeen year domination of the
Conservative Party after he succeeded in introducing some
strategic adjustments to the party's ideological and political
platform.

The recent victory of the Social Democratic Party, led by
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, in Germany was mainly due to the
new progressive ideas put forward during the election campaign.

As a political party, which claims to be committed to
democracy and some sort of populism, PDI Perjuangan is challenged
to formulate a policy platform of high quality, while being
realistic enough to be used as a guideline for national
development. One main agenda for Indonesia in the near future is
how to establish good governance capable of combining economic
growth and social justice.

Because of its huge responsibility to the nation, PDI
Perjuangan is expected to improve its organizational capability
and the quality of its human resources. Because of the diversity
of its members, internal conflict remains latent within this
party.

Party unity may never be taken for granted. In the past such
diversity could be easily used by the ruling power to weaken the
party. Therefore, the party needs to strengthen its common
identity as guardians of democracy, national unity and social
justice. The clarity and comprehensiveness of its ideological and
political mission would be a positive step toward the
crystallization of such common identity.

Relations between PDI Perjuangan and the Armed Forces remain a
sensitive issue. There is a suggestion that this party should end
its antagonism with the military. If their relations remain cool,
then it will be more difficult for the party to get the support
of the military, which is imperative in Indonesian politics.

However, appeasing the military will not be a awkward job for
PDI Perjuangan. It could use its retired officers as mediators to
convince the military that PDI Perjuangan can be trusted and is
reliable enough to lead the nation into a more prosperous and
democratic future. After all, why should they fight each other if
they have a common vision for the future of the country?

The writer is the head of the school of international
relations at the University of Parahyangan, Bandung and a
researcher at the Parahyangan Center for International Studies.

Window: Reviving Sukarno's political idealism, like Indonesian
nationalism and populism, may help the party in mobilizing
political support from the people of lower classes. However, the
party should be able to reformulate these old ideas so that they
might be relevant and workable in this era of globalization.