Old faces will appear

Old faces will appear

Saturday's discussion titled Megawati Among Her Rivals hinted at skepticism that in 2004 no new national leaders would emerge from the 2004 general election.

The new president might be directly elected but he or she would be an old hand.

The discussion, held to coincide with the establishment of Presidential Candidate Watchers (PCW), concluded that an old face would not be able to deal with this country's economic, social and political ills.

PCW coordinator Iriani Sophiaan said in the discussion that all the presidential candidates were old players with poor records. The issue was something that had become a matter of popular concern: It was unlikely a genuinely new leader would emerge.

Indonesia has had five presidents, none of whom was directly elected by the people. Sukarno emerged as the nation's leader, thanks to his extraordinary leadership before independence. Soeharto appeared following political turmoil, while B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and current president Megawati Soekarnoputri were all elected by political party representatives.

Harold Crouch, an Australian Indonesianist who attended the discussion, said that people at village level might know nothing about the quality of their current leaders, whom they will have to elect directly in the 2004 elections. Therefore, emotional choices will outweigh rational ones.

The elected president, whether or not he or she is a new player, will face a people who have been growing braver and more democratic. -- Harian Ekonomi Neraca, Jakarta