Megawati will never be queen

Megawati will never be queen

I read with interest Mr. Huub Neys' letter regarding his
support for Megawati Soekarnoputri's bid to be the next president
of Indonesia (The Jakarta Post, Sept. 28, 1999). Certainly, what
he has written is right. Although, in my opinion there are better
candidates for the job, she is the people's choice and this fact
should be taken into consideration.

However, it is strange that Mr. Neys should compare Megawati
to the queen of the Netherlands. The political system of
Indonesia is very different from that of Holland. Megawati is not
running for the position of queen as a uniting agent, but for the
position of president: someone who should actually run the
country. Therefore, Mr. Neys' comparison of Megawati to his queen
is invalid.

In any case, I think that the intellectual writers that Mr.
Neys refers to should be free to express their opinions; they
should also be able to criticize Megawati when or if she does
become president. As president, Megawati should not be treated as
queen. After all, we are trying to build a democratic republic
and not a monarchy.

If Mr. Neys were not so patronizing in his letter, perhaps the
intellectual writers that he wishes to address might be more
inclined to listen to what he has to say. I certainly do not
think that all intellectual writers should only voice the
aspirations of the people. Who has the right to determine what
the voice of the people is, anyway? Remember what happened during
the Old and New Orders?

AMIR SIDHARTA

Jakarta