On the president

On the president

From Kompas

Recently there have been articles and political comments about whether the president should be a Javanese or non-Javanese. And Jusuf Kalla said some time ago that we should no longer have the perception that the Indonesian president must be Javanese.

My comment is that, in our country's history, out of the five presidents that the nation has had so far, only Soeharto was pure Javanese. Let us consider them one by one.

Sukarno was not Javanese because he was of mixed parentage -- his father was Javanese and his mother a Balinese.

While Soeharto is a real Javanese, and his Javanese dialect is quite clear and his style of governing was very much Javanese.

BJ Habibie had a Javanese mother and was born in Sulawesi.

Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid once said that he had Chinese ancestors. Moreover, it has been said that he was related to Prophet Mohammad.

And how about Megawati Soekarnoputri? She is the granddaughter of a Javanese-Balinese family and her mother was from Bengkulu province. So, she is definitely not Javanese.

In conclusion, any Indonesian from any region can become president provided he or she is competent and is acceptable to all of society, from Sabang to Merauke.

SUBARTONO Bogor, West Java