Megawati must develop trust

Megawati must develop trust

Megawati has now entered the second phase of her presidency.
The second phase will be quite different from her first six
months, during which she was allowed to rule in peace.

The first six months are now long over and the political elite
has not withdrawn its support. However, discontent toward her
government is on the rise. Specific groups, such as human rights
activists, as well as the general public are dissatisfied. The
activists are particularly disappointed by the fact that she has
given a bigger role to the military.

A wider dissatisfaction is related to the way economic
problems are being handled. It seems that Megawati's
administration is doing nothing to improve the exchange value of
the rupiah. On the contrary it seems busy further burdening the
people, as reflected by various hikes: electricity and telephone
charges as well as fuel prices. All these could have been avoided
if her administration had done its utmost to improve the rupiah's
value.

The public dissatisfaction is more a reflection of skepticism
about the sincerity of her attempts to save the nation in
comparison to the technical aspects of policies on privatization
or the reduction of subsidies. The integrity of Megawati's family
is now also being questioned. The allegations made by George
Junus Aditjondro about Taufiq Kiemas and Puan Maharani's
activities stand as one small example of public distrust.

Many other feelings of discontentment have erupted. In her
second six months, she should address the lack of public trust.
Megawati needs to develop public trust by maintaining the
integrity of her family. This will help improve conditions in the
nation.

-- Republika, Jakarta