Megawati's supremacy

Megawati's supremacy

As it has turned out, it is not exaggerated to call Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri a phenomenon of supremacy. When she remained silent, people became bitter because they were afraid that her supremacy would be threatened. But when she finally spoke, people were touched as they came under the spell of her supremacy.

Megawati's political speech constituted not merely a rejoinder to the criticism and disparagements she had received; in several parts it even offered solutions. The appendage presenting her vision on the economic policies she would adopt if elected president is a more than adequate proposal for consideration.

Mega spoke of Aceh, where up to this moment confusion continues to reign, with perfection -- not by using grandiose phrases, but through compassion. She never attempted to resort to verbal sophistication to charm her audience, nor was there any attempt to underscore her statements through dramatic intonation. Instead, she moved her audience's emotions with a simplicity of thought that touched the public's conscience. She never exaggerated and remained reasonable throughout.

All the arguments in Mega's political speech -- if that is what it was -- were based on a measure of common sense that was enough to effectively neutralize all the criticism that people had been hurling at her. And the conclusive morale of her political speech reflected her unyielding conviction in the supremacy of the people's sovereignty.

Mega spoke in the language of reason, translating to perfection the simplicity, the modesty and the direct character of the people's conscience. That capability -- we could perhaps call it charisma -- constitutes a strong base on which Megawati's supremacy can be made to stand.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta