Presidential 'whisperers'?

It would be interesting to know what President Abdurrahman Wahid would have said had he been present at Thursday's hearing of the House of Representatives Commission I for defense, foreign and political affairs and some of the President's closest aides. It has taken much less pointless talk than was heard at this latest entertaining exchange in the House for our irrepressibly outspoken President to brand the national legislature a "kindergarten".

For the record, the House of Representatives on Thursday summoned the President's four secretaries for a hearing to uncover the identity of the "whisperers" -- that is to say, the people who allegedly have been feeding the President misleading information behind the scenes. To be fair, there is reason for Indonesians to be irked, or at least confused, by Abdurrahman's public statements lately.

One particularly strong remark which he made while abroad recently concerned a clandestine meeting of military generals, which he said he "knew" had been held at a certain address -- which he did not identify -- on Jl. Lautze in Jakarta during his absence.

Coming when the President was locked in a standoff with Gen. Wiranto, the former chief of the Indonesian Military, over the latter's refusal to step down as coordinating minister for political affairs and security, the President's statement naturally alarmed many parties in Indonesia, not least the players in the money market and the Jakarta Stock Exchange.

To lend an even more ominous aspect to the whole episode, Jakarta at that time was abuzz with rumors that a military coup was in the making. The military command in Jakarta wasted no time disclaiming the President's statement.

Earlier instances demonstrating President Abdurrahman's apparent lack of correct information may be less dramatic in nature, but taken collectively they nevertheless give cause for some doubt among the public as to how well informed the President actually is.

His earlier calls for certain -- again unnamed -- members of his Cabinet to step down for their involvement in corrupt or irregular dealings was never followed up, even though not one Cabinet minister complied with the demand. Indeed, the President never bothered proving his allegations of corruption.

Assumptions about the influence certain mysterious behind-the- scene "whisperers" have on the Indonesian chief executive may have taken a new and rather perilous turn last Sunday when the President, in the space of just a few hours, made a volte-face by suspending Gen. Wiranto from his post as coordinating minister after earlier announcing the general would remain in the Cabinet.

This, and other apparent inconsistencies in the President's handling of issues of state, are confusing to the public. However, given his past record, there appears to be little chance that Abdurrahman will change his ways any time soon.

The best thing Indonesians and others can do under the circumstances is perhaps listen to the advice of Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak, who told the House of Representatives on Thursday to judge the President by his results and not by the process he goes through to arrive at them or the input given to him. "It is not important who whispered to him. Look at the outcome of his statements. By exaggerating the role of the 'whisperers' you are underestimating the President."

Many observers agree. In Abdurrahman's own words, spoken during his first hearing with the House of Representatives, it is the legislators own fault for electing a President like him.

That being the case, the best thing to do to keep the situation from becoming even more complicated is to refrain from wild speculation, such as whether the President's secretary, Ratih Hardjono, is an undercover agent working for the Australian government -- unless there is solid proof to back the speculation up.