Megawati offers 'housewife management system'

Megawati offers 'housewife management system'

Kornelius Purba
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja
Tokyo

President Megawati Soekarnoputri had a secret to tell 200
Indonesian community members here on Friday. She said she
believes in a "housewife management system" to manage the state
economy.

The President said she chose the system because experience
proves that housewives know the best way to manage their family
budget, even though their husband's income was barely enough to
make ends meet.

She said a housewife would try to save some money even though
they had far from enough, but she knows she must do it for her
family's future.

She said she was often confused with her economic ministers,
especially Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun
Kuntjoro-Jakti, who tended to use complicated economic theories
to decide the government's economic policies.

She said the solution was in fact much more simpler if he took
a lesson from his wife.

"Pak Dorodjatun and his colleagues have to think hard when
dealing with astronomical figures, which is obvious from his
wrinkly forehead. I say why not just adopt the housewife's
method."

Megawati said how she often reminded her ministers about her
leadership management.

When she saw her audience laugh, including her ministers, she
looked irritated and said: "Don't laugh. Housewives usually know
best how to stretch finances. I bet your husbands would go
bankrupt if your wives couldn't manage the budget well."

Her husband Taufik Kiemas, her son Rizki Pratama and daughter
Puan Maharani burst into laughter when Megawati said that some
mothers were also good at "marking up" expenses and cheating
their husbands.

"The money is concealed in a secret pocket, or somewhere else.
Housewives are good at it. Then the wives tell their husbands
that they have no more shopping money," said Megawati as she
demonstrated how to hide money in one of her pockets.

She was granted an honorary doctorate degree on Saturday from
the prestigious Waseda University.

The President expressed her bitter feelings about continuing
corruption and the abuse of state funds. She said she did not
know how corrupt officials had the heart to plunder state
coffers.

She said Indonesia would never be able to end its economic
chaos unless corruption was rooted out and corruptors were
punished.

Megawati said one of her toughest jobs was to safeguard the
state coffers from "robbers".

"How can I save money if the coffers are robbed all the time?"
Megawati said and looked at the guests in the front row, where
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman
Aburizal Bakrie was seated.

Later in the afternoon, the President attended a luncheon
jointly hosted by Japanese-Indonesian Parliamentarian League
chairman Taku Yamasaki and the Japanese-Indonesian Association
leader Yukio Hayashida.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told the President on
Thursday night that he had entrusted Yamasaki, who is also the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secretary-general, to handle key
bilateral problems with Indonesia on his behalf.

In her luncheon speech, Megawati also took the opportunity to
introduce her husband as a member of the House of Representatives
(DPR) from her own party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

"I have included in my delegation three members of the
Indonesian legislature. You may be aware that my husband is also
a legislator," Megawati said.

In the evening, Megawati paid a courtesy call on Japanese
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, who she called her old
friends.