Megawati is the cure needed

As a regular reader of The Jakarta Post (when I am in Indonesia) I was painfully struck by the letter that Willem Oltmans wrote (July 10, 1999).

Working and traveling in Indonesia I have come to love it and its future is a thing I dream about and want to help make come true.

Now to me Megawati is a symbol of Indonesia's hope for a better future and as such I very strongly support her candidacy for president. As a matter of fact see it as inevitable that she will eventually become president. So why worry about Mr. Oltmans' letter? Because it sounds so logical.

Mr. Oltmans' argument focuses around quality of leadership but his definition of quality clearly goes in the direction of experienced persons with intellectual quality. The "professionals" as he calls them. Actually it very much resembles the call for "the strong man" that we so often hear.

Now we can witness all around that the professionalism of the person at the top is pretty irrelevant for the quality of the democracy. Expertise can be sought. Megawati can join with others for running her business. Not too long ago we could see the United States being run by an actor (Ronald Reagan), and for two terms at that. And now we see the same in the Philippines. Many people say they performed well. Actually other, very good politicians often cannot get their ideas through and many thieves get away with the people's money.

Why is this? We look at the iceberg and see its tip and likewise we think a country is run by some professional "out there". But a country consists of many ordinary people living ordinary lives who contribute every day into the making of a nation. Corruption for example is found at every level of Indonesian society and that's why it is able to flourish. Soldiers and policemen who are repressing people come from the same people. They go along with their orders because that's their level of democracy, they think it's the way it's supposed to be. It all depends on the quality of thinking of the people as a whole, the "political atmosphere" in a country.

Now Indonesia is going through a crisis, which is one of the best things that has happened to Indonesia even though most people don't realize it. It's like a disease which calls for cleaning up the body. Much can be learned from and in this process. What's this disease about? The focus is corruption which means a lack of honesty, transparency and caring for the people.

Now Indonesians are pretty aware of this disease and want a cure. They look for a doctor. As psychology has taught us: a doctor who is convincing has a profound healing effect on a patient. Trust in a person who knows and cares is what motivates us to live our lives the right way. Now Megawati has this aura around her. She definitely has some qualities that people are looking for right now: care, honesty, determination to see justice done. Although eventually the people will have to cure themselves, they will be greatly helped by a symbolic person at the top that represents the values that they strive for.

HUUB NEYS

Maastricht, Netherlands