People dream of better life under Megawati

People dream of better life under Megawati

Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post

Megawati Soekarnoputri is the second vice president, after
B.J. Habibie to be appointed, not elected, president by the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) because their predecessors
had to vacate their positions long before their five-year terms
were due to end.

Both Habibie and Megawati inherited political and economic
chaos from Soeharto. However, Habibie was a major player in the
Soeharto regime, while Megawati and her family were among
Soeharto's most tragic victims.

In October 1999 there were at least three people who openly
expressed a wish to lead Indonesia from that time until 2004. But
only one of them, Megawati, had the chance to realize the dream,
even though she had to wait two more years.

Habibie, who replaced Soeharto after bloody turmoil in May
1998, entrusted Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung with the task of
securing him the 1999-2004 presidential seat. Habibie, who was
Soeharto's golden boy and served as Soeharto's deputy for three
months before Soeharto's fall, failed to realize his ambition
after the MPR rejected his accountability speech.

Abdurrahman Wahid, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman and founder
of the National Awakening Party (PKB), defeated longtime ally
Megawati Soekarnoputri in the 1999 presidential election despite
the fact that PKB came fourth in the general election.

Championed by National Mandate Party (PAN) leader Amien Rais
and United Development Party (PPP) chairman Hamzah Haz, Muslim-
oriented political parties succeeded in blocking Megawati's
election. The position of her party, the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) as the biggest faction in the
Assembly and the winner of the 1999 general election, appeared to
be meaningless at that time.

Only after violence hit the country following her defeat in
the presidential election did her adversaries in the Assembly
give her a chance to contest the vice presidential election. She
was elected vice president after a tight race against Hamzah.

On July 23 this year, Megawati became the country's fifth
president following Abdurrahman's dismissal by the Assembly.
Seeming to put aside their opposition to her two years
previously, leaders of Islam-oriented political parties fully
endorsed Megawati's appointment after their hopes were dashed
with Abdurrahman's dismissal.

Hamzah, who in 1999 had openly said that it was against Islam
to have a woman president, was elected vice president with the
support of PDI Perjuangan.

Megawati gave an unexpected display of independence when she
selected her "dream team" Cabinet in August. Under the leadership
of Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-
Jakti, many were enthusiastic that the economics team would be
able to restore market confidence in Indonesia.

Minister of Finance Boediono was respected for his integrity
and nonpartisan position, despite having been implicated in the
Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) scandal. As former top
executive of PT Astra International, there was no doubt about the
capability of Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi in
leading her ministry.

Now Dorodjatun has come under fire. Some Cabinet members have
complained that Dorodjatun often treats them like university
students. And there has been no significant progress in the
economy.

Meanwhile, despite strong opposition from PDI Perjuangan and
husband Taufik Kiemas, Megawati has retained Bambang Kesowo, who
worked for her when she was vice president, as state/Cabinet
secretary.

Bambang is an experienced bureaucrat who was a key aide under
Soeharto. His specialty is legal affairs. Megawati understands
that she cannot survive without support from the bureaucracy,
although she knows how corrupt the system is.

Realizing that the military is vital in that it has the
potential to disrupt her presidency, Megawati has refrained from
meddling in the military leadership. She has not replaced
Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Adm. Widodo, although some of
her close advisors have disclosed that she wants to assign former
Army chief of staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto as Widodo's successor.
Led by incumbent Army Chief of Staff Gen. Sutarto Endriartono,
TNI leaders have expressed support for Widodo and oppose Tyasno's
promotion. At the same time that do not want to defy Megawati in
public.

The result of her readiness to compromise with the military is
reflected in the improvement of political stability and security,
where riots and violence have, to a certain extent, abated since
August. She has also tolerated the continuation of military
operations in Aceh. Indeed, the military may feel much freer to
act now compared with during Abdurrahman's presidency.

After the days of disorder under Abdurrahman's leadership,
police took stern action against radical groups like the Islam
Defenders Front (FPI) during the peak of anti-U.S. demonstrations
in September and against the Laskar Jihad in recent riots in
Ngawi, East Java.

Police eventually arrested Tommy Soeharto, just after the
President warned that she was losing patience with the police's
slowness in handling Tommy's case.

Her reserved behavior is often an advantage. She rarely
responds to any criticism of her leadership, although in limited
public meetings she sometimes expresses impatience with her
critics.

The terrorist attacks on the U.S. in September were a turning
point for Megawati. Her position as the leader of the world's
most populous Muslim nation attracted world attention. She was
among the first foreign leaders to be received by U.S. President
George W. Bush after the tragedy. Many, however, are disappointed
that the President failed to get more concessions from Western
countries, especially in reducing Indonesia's huge foreign debts.

It would be unfair to expect her to immediately pull the
nation out of crisis. Even if she had as her ministers people of
world-class statue, for example former U.S. president Bill
Clinton, they would be unable to overcome Indonesia's problems in
a short time. Soeharto caused such severe damage to the nation
that it might take years to rectify.

Megawati's qualifications are often underestimated, such as
when she was an opposition leader during Soeharto's rule. She is
often described as an ordinary woman who was lucky to be the
daughter of founding father Sukarno. She is often described as
another Soeharto, or as a president who cannot control her
husband.

There appears to be a consensus among the political elite not
to disrupt Megawati's leadership and to allow her to govern
without interference until 2004. Her ministers also feel more
comfortable in their work knowing she will not interfere in their
day-to-day duties.

However, there is a strong impression that Megawati does not
have a strong sense of crisis and tends to act slowly, as though
she expects the problems to resolve themselves. She spends every
Tuesday attending to PDI Perjuangan affairs and every Saturday
gardening.

She has achieved her dream of returning to the palace after
being cruelly expelled from the palace in the 1960s following the
fall of her father.

But when will people's dream to have a better life in
Indonesia under her leadership become reality?