Megawati's speech draws a fine line

Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the victorious Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), finally broke her silence last Thursday. Political observer Wimar Witoelar analyzes the impact of her speech.

JAKARTA (JP): After a long silence, Megawati Soekarnoputri's long-awaited speech answers most questions on the enigmatic presidential front-runner. Still, many find fault with a number of things. This reflects a public ill at ease over political clarity, which is the main feature of this passionate address.

The nitpicking ranges from "her programs are too broad", "nothing new was said", "she speaks with arrogance", to the inane "maybe she didn't write the speech herself". However, the speech appeals to ordinary people who are fed up with political doublespeak and the maneuverings of the "political elite".

They like Megawati's clear voice claiming election victory and saying simply "the people want a change of regime".

The silent majority, wishing for change, get a clear signal for the first time. That, in a nutshell, is the significance of the speech.

For the first time, leadership emerges from the chaotic opposition. Now, support for Megawati clears a path to a new government. Other choices will probably work in favor of Habibie. In effect, Megawati's speech sharpens the choice between preserving and replacing the status quo.

Not much in the speech is new in substance, but everything is different in attitude. The speech is comforting because it hits every nail on the head. Questions that had been avoided, finessed and ignored by all politicians are addressed with stunning confidence.

Now, what comes next? The irritating delays in the election committee (KPU) are finally coming to an end. Now the real drama unfolds, the Making of the President 1999: Habibie the incumbent faces Megawati the challenger.

For those who remember the emotions, the violence and the damage of 1998, the choice should be obvious. Weren't the students the voice of the nation when they rejected the Soeharto regime and encountered retaliation in the mass murders, rapes, and arson organized by some mysterious military groups?

The next time students raised their voices at the Semanggi flyover it also produced tragedy, this time at the hands of the military proper. So how come erstwhile reformers are criticizing Megawati while Habibie plays the smiling host?

It is disconcerting to see politicians who are outsiders of the New Order bickering among each other while the remains of the Soeharto-style regime keep plundering public assets. Public funds are diverted to questionable hands in the course of anything from buying out power plants to selling off state enterprises to bank takeovers and mergers.

All of these deals involve cash that is beyond the reach of public accountability. Activists and the press reveal these schemes as money-laundering scandals. Yet the beat goes on, as Cher used to say when Sonny Bono was still alive. There is no solution except a change of regime. Surely the new government will be kinder and gentler than the current one.

No one need to be afraid of change if the present is so hopeless. What is the choice? If we are not sure of Megawati and PDI Perjuangan, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN), can we turn back to Golkar for new paradigms and gradual reform?

A foreign journalist asked me, "Is Golkar really dead?"

If you know monster movies, you will find that the difference between dead and alive is very slight. Like Count Dracula receiving fresh blood, a party which was dead during the campaign can rise from the dead at the voting booth after a healthy dose of money politics.

Golkar remains very dead in spirit, dead in programs. They have a candidate, Habibie, who depends on a small team with big money. Their mission is political survival -- at any cost to the nation. That keeps them alive as political zombies. Money in huge amounts is absorbed by their machine like blood is sucked up by Count Dracula, used in recruitment like so many vampire bites.

Golkar and their candidate could very well remain in power, but they cannot regain political legitimacy. In today's liberated climate, any victory for Golkar is just a reprieve. They could stay for awhile with money and religious and ethnic fanaticism. A poor recipe for long-term stability. Just as the Count of Darkness is helpless in the light of day, in the end the regime will wither in the daylight of transparency.

We face a choice between a zombie regime and a fresh, untested government still to be forged by a reformist coalition. So, how much longer are the good guys going to nitpick on Megawati's style, and get down to business?