Megawati likely to win popular support: Scholar
Megawati likely to win popular support: Scholar
SEMARANG (JP): Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), is likely to win widespread support if she decides to run in the presidential election in 1998, political observer Arief Budiman said yesterday.
Support for Megawati will come not only because many people are craving for a change in the national leadership, but also because many people believe she has the necessary qualifications, Arief said.
Megawati has done considerably well in leading the PDI given the difficult circumstances facing the party these past two years, said the former staff lecturer at the Satyawacana Christian University in Salatiga.
"I'm confident that if Megawati accepts the presidential nomination during the general election in 1997, many people will rally to her," Arief told The Jakarta Post.
The campaign to nominate Megawati as a presidential candidate in 1998 was started in Central Java by a number of local PDI leaders in October. The momentum gathered pace this week when three PDI legislators signed a petition, and forms were distributed in Jakarta.
Megawati, who turned 49 this week, has declined to comment on the proposed nomination. Many within the PDI are also playing safe by refraining from commenting on the subject.
Defiance
The daughter of the former president Sukarno swept to the PDI leadership during a congress in late 1993 by supporters in defiance of the government's wish to have a person of its choice in the post.
By law, only a faction in the People's Consultative Assembly can formally nominate someone. It is scheduled to meet in March 1998 to elect the president and the vice president. President Soeharto has been elected five times unopposed; on each occasion he was the candidate of all the five factions -- PDI, Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP), the Armed Forces and the Regional Representatives.
Senior government officials have also been reluctant to comment on the proposal to nominate Megawati for president.
Comment
M. Sudibyo, the chief of the State Intelligence Coordinating Body, told reporters yesterday that since Megawati had not commented, those outside the PDI should also refrain from speaking publicly on the issue.
Sudibyo said the government is sticking to formal procedures and that nominations are not due until the Assembly's meeting in 1998.
Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. reportedly said earlier this week that the proposal was not good for democracy because it was being coordinated without following proper procedures.
More than a dozen organizations have called on the incumbent 74-year old Soeharto to continue to lead the nation when his current five year term ends in 1998.
Arief believes that Megawati has what it takes to become president, particularly when compared to other present-day political figures. "She does not make bombastic statements, she has shown patience and perseverance in dealing with conflicts raging inside and outside the party, she's got that motherly attitude and has a charisma of her own.
"She has the support of members of the intellectual elite and from those who are calling for changes in Indonesian politics, particularly youths and students," he said.
On the question of a woman being president, Arief pointed to Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines where women have been accepted in the highest office.
He said the current conflict in the PDI chapter in East Java will be the main test for Megawati. "If she survives the next 12 months, then she will become a viable alternative leader for Indonesia." (har/pan/emb)