Megawati tells nation to respect differences

Megawati tells nation to respect differences

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri told the nation on Tuesday to
consider it an obligation to acknowledge and respect differences.

"Obviously, all of it must be accepted and implemented with
honesty and sincerity," she said in a speech during the
commemoration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad on Tuesday.

Megawati, however, admitted that it would be impossible to
produce a perfect and effective solution to bridge all
differences.

"That seems to reflect our nationhood. Without needing to
boast about our huge differences or cover them up, there needs to
be give and take," she said.

In a bid to honor differences, Megawati asked people to always
stay calm even if others rejected their opinions or expectations.

"We must put a bigger interest above our own," Megawati
remarked.

The political situation in the country has been heating up
prior to the 2004 elections. Legislators from various political
parties are currently debating the presidential election bill.

Unfortunately, the interests of big parties occasionally
overshadow those of small parties.

Megawati's Indonesia Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan), for example, is demanding that presidential
candidates should be open to people with high school diplomas
only, while other parties demand that presidential aspirants
should have university diplomas.

Megawati, the only presidential candidate from PDI Perjuangan,
is not a university graduate. PDI Perjuangan won the 1999
elections.

On the other hand, the Golkar Party is demanding that a
candidate who happens to be a defendant may run for the
presidential seat.

Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung has been declared guilty of
corruption and sentenced to three years in jail. He remains free
pending appeal.

Nevertheless, many have opposed Akbar's presidential
candidacy. Golkar is the second biggest political party in the
country.

Indonesia consists of different ethnic groups and cultures.
Conflict over ethnicity or religious differences are nothing new
here.

The condition has created turbulence in Indonesia, which
boasts of its "unity in diversity" philosophy, as it often leads
to sectarian conflict.