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?