On female president

On female president

The debate about the possibility of a woman being Indonesia's
president has become a prolonged debate in society. Further, I
refer to Mr. Wisdarmanto's letter of June 22. I would like to
comment on this matter as follows.

1. In analyzing the teachings of Islam we must always refer to
the Koran and Hadiths. We cannot do it simply by comparing things
to the practices in a country which coincidentally has a Muslim
population such as Pakistan or Turkey. And Turkey, as we all
know, has, since a long time ago, officially declared itself as a
secular country.

2. To compare the title or the job of presidency with the leading
position in the neighborhood community, village, province and
mass organization, etc., is not proportional because there are
differences in scope, authority, responsibility and the weight of
the job.

3. Regarding your question, I would like to ask you the same
question: if Megawati's surname was not Soekarnoputri, would
people still choose her? For this point, I'd like to share my
opinion with you. To become a leader, unfortunately, it is not
enough just to be loved or respected. To be a leader, one must
have the capability and most of all trust. And trust is, indeed,
the most important thing.

4. To compare Eddi Tansil with Wardah Hafidz is neither
proportional nor relevant. There is no way you can compare a
swindler with a well-known social worker, especially based on
gender.

I need to say that I am neutral and I am just trying to put
things into proportion. As far as I am concerned, whoever the
people choose constitutionally is entitled to be president. I
feel obliged to give some comments on the Islamic teachings you
mentioned in your letter.

VITTO R. TAHAR

Jakarta