Presidential 'whisperers'?

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.