Megawati must assume more control

Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a meeting with members of the Indonesian community in Tokyo last month, President Megawati Soekarnoputri shared the secret of how she manages the country, including restoring calm to the economic and political chaos. She uses "housewife management", she said, and she also told her Cabinet members to follow her approach.

She revealed her strong faith in the delegation of authorities to top aides, and that she was more interested in getting the final results of their work rather than intervening in their day- to-day duties.

She had teased her economic czar, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, who was often trapped in complex economic theories when deciding the government's economic policies. "Why not just adopt the housewife method," she said.

But now this "household" needs a more involved chief, at least in leading the way for the President's aides.

Megawati is completely different from her predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid, who was dismissed by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in July. Abdurrahman not only tended to intervene in all of his ministers' policy-makings, but even made major decisions without consulting them.

Abdurrahman also dismissed his ministers or top aides a number of times. Since the reasons for the dismissals were not always clear, it led people to believe that he replaced aides at whim.

While Abdurrahman was largely in confrontation mode with the legislature, Megawati avoids potential conflict.

Her choice of M.A. Rachman as attorney general simply because he was a career state prosecutor is a clear indication of how she avoids friction with state bodies.

Megawati made clear her priorities: Economic revival, restoration of political chaos, law enforcement and maintaining the endangered territorial integrity.

She picked three men as her strongest aides: Dorodjatun, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and State Secretary/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo to be in charge of administrative affairs. She delegated her power and entrusted them to make major decisions.

Over the past few months, however, disappointment has hovered over the performance of these aides.

The appointment of Dorodjatun, the former Indonesian envoy to the U.S. and dean of the School of Economics at the University of Indonesia, initially won praise from the market. Now many doubt his capability. During Cabinet meetings, he reportedly upsets the ministers often with his lengthy sermons about economic strategy.

His idea about a possible debt-writeoff received strong opposition from major lenders, including a direct remark from Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Look at the way Susilo handled the noisy and violent demonstrations, including the "sweepings" against foreigners by some radical groups protesting the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan. He continued to issue warnings on the consequences of the protests without taking firm action.

It was only after Megawati threatened to take over his role by directly approaching the demonstrators -- as she reportedly told a close advisor -- and to dismiss the police top brass that the police acted on stopping the noisy demonstrations. The demonstrators, including the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), clashed with police but public order was then restored.

Bambang professed that the President did not want to get involved in details, including in her speech writing process, and she makes final decisions after receiving input and advice from her top aides.

Bambang practically acts like her chief of staff. She supports his idea to return power to the State Secretariat, once described as "a state within a state". In this scenario, Bambang would be the only person in charge not only of the presidential office but also the office of Vice President Hamzah Haz.

This is not taking place without any resistance, including from the powerful military. Sources close to Megawati disclosed that the military strongly protest Bambang's plan to abolish the military secretary's post and downgrade it to deputy state secretary.

A source said that during Megawati's visit to Tokyo last month, Military Secretary Maj. Gen. Tubagus Hasanuddin, a member of her entourage, approached her to protest a decision from Bambang, who prohibited Hasanuddin from attending Cabinet meetings. The military secretary has always attended the meetings since Soeharto's rule.

Quoting the President, Bambang told Hasanuddin that she did not want the military secretary's presence at the Cabinet meetings. The general wanted to confirm the statement directly with the President.

The source said that Megawati had told him: "I never forbade the military secretary from attending the meeting. You are expected to attend such important fora."

Having grown up in the palace as the daughter of first president Soekarno, Megawati was quite familiar with her father's inner circle of officials and the intrigue among those competing to get close to Sukarno.

People have hoped that she would not repeat the mistakes of her predecessors, including her father, who allowed themselves to be misused by their trusted aides and others around them.

The mostly quiet President seems so far inaccessible to those with vested interests, such as officials and businesspeople. However, corrupt practices by palace officials, especially those who were under Soeharto's regime, remain a threat to Megawati's leadership.

Protocol officials are famous for their sophisticated way of arranging meetings with the President, if necessary by holding a ceremony where their "clients" would get an opportunity to talk to the President. For instance, the seminar on drugs, featuring the police top brass, opened on Monday at the palace, but had been scheduled for next month.

Therefore, it is not impossible that old practices will reoccur. Businesspeople or officials have been known to bribe palace officials to obtain presidential decisions on business- related policies prior to public announcement, or influence people around the President to issue certain presidential decrees or government decisions to benefit a business or other interest.

One notorious example was the "KISS" ke istana sendiri sendiri, (going to the palace individually), referring to the efforts of those who would meet secretly with the President without the knowledge of their superiors. Ministers, generals or other senior officials often asked Soeharto to approve their respective policies even though the policy was opposed by their immediate superiors.

Even now, visits to the palace are showing signs of the familiar KISS, involving officials and businesspeople scurrying for the President's favors, as also indicated by the participation of a relative of a troubled tycoon in the entourage to Tokyo.

To better lead her household and avoid past mistakes, Megawati must take command of the Cabinet meetings and other major political decisions, and not just delegate her aides to act on her behalf.

She is more than capable of leading the country. But sooner or later she may lose control on her government and the Cabinet if she does not become more involved in day-to-day government affairs.