No reason for surprise

No reason for surprise

President Abdurrahman Wahid, according to his spokesman Wimar Witoelar, wants to draw a thick line between the (Soeharto's) New Order regime's tradition and that of his own. But the (Abdurrahman Wahid) government has not only totally inherited its culture and methods, but its players as well?

People remember how cronies the likes of Prajogo Pangestu, Marimutu Sinivasan and Sjamsul Nursalim nurtured close relations with the Cendana (Soeharto) family in order to advance their businesses -- which is also what happened when they received liquidity aid from Bank Indonesia, a matter that should have been investigated to make sure that they won't default on their debt? Now those three conglomerates are receiving favors from the President, who wants the government's attorney's to delay investigating those debts, who knows at what compensation.

If the government leadership is taking so lenient an attitude towards irregularities, no one will be surprised if the bureaucracy continues to engage in deviant practices and disregards the law in implementing the state budget.

-- Republika, Jakarta