Megawati says RI needs leaders with inner authority

Megawati says RI needs leaders with inner authority

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Sumedang, West Java

President Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Tuesday the nation was
in need of leaders with intrinsic authority far more than those
who simply relied on power.

Speaking in her address to 621 graduates of the Public
Administration Institute here, Megawati said leadership qualities
were worth developing as such characteristics would result in
voluntary obedience among followers.

"Power relies much on regulations. In governing, it's clear
that possessing leadership qualities is better than just wielding
power," the President said.

She warned that a power-oriented style of governing would
discourage the people at the grass roots from expressing their
aspirations and fail to respond to the dynamic nature of society,
which is no different from the way the past regime ruled the
country.

The President asserted that only if leaders lived with their
people could they identify their expectations.

She said the endorsed constitutional amendments would lead
political parties to compete to respond to the real needs of
their constituents.

"People's representatives in the legislative bodies, the
president and vice president will be elected directly by the
people. Consequently, each political party has to pick its best
cadres who can gain the people's trust not only due to their
charisma, but their capability in formulating the people's
aspirations into real programs," Megawati said.

Following the tight competition, the elected politicians are
supposed to lead a bureaucracy and change their promises into
concrete actions.

"Politicians have to learn more about their constituents'
historical background, culture, aspirations and interests," she
said.

The current practice of administration adopted in the country,
according to the President, has prevented people from
understanding the complexity of problems facing other regions,
overlooking the fact that most of the country's population live
in remote areas.

"The result is many government policies look good on paper,
but they turn out to be irrelevant or not in line with people's
needs. We understand now that many problems facing the nation
related with politics, economy, society or culture are just an
accumulation of difficulties people in the regions face, "
Megawati said.

Some 300 students from several universities greeted Megawati
with a rally to criticize her government for failing to carry out
sweeping reforms.

"Poverty is rising, law enforcement is poor and national debt
has reached an alarming level," one of the protesters, Mohamad
Taufik, said.

The students were unable to approach the President to
articulate their demands due to the tight security. The students
dispersed peacefully later in the day.

It was the 10th batch of the institute's graduates, who
comprised 460 males and 161 females. Nine of the top ten
graduates were women.