`She's an incompetent leader'

`She's an incompetent leader'

With the country still mired in an economic crisis, President
Megawati Soekarnoputri has called on people to live modestly and
to tighten their belts. Of course, many people found it hard to
take the President seriously considering her own lifestyle, which
few of her fellow Indonesians would describe as modest. The
Jakarta Post talked to a number of Jakartans about the issue.

Lutfi, 37, is a motorcycle taxi driver in Palmerah, West
Jakarta. He lives in Palmerah with his wife and three daughters:

As the President, Megawati should have thought over her words
before speaking them in public. Her words, if I may say, were
really an insult to poor people like me.

The poor have been struggling to survive for so long now. Her
promises to side with the ordinary people have never been
realized. She talks nonsense!

The call should have been addressed to the rich and ultimately
to the President herself and her family.

I would be happy to see her learn how to live like the poor.
She was born to a rich family and doesn't know how the poor deal
with their daily lives.

Osi, 26, works at a cargo company in West Jakarta. She resides
in Petukangan, South Jakarta, with her family:

We don't need her (Megawati) urging us to live thrifty
lifestyles. We have always lived in poverty.

I already have learned how to tighten my belt because I only
earn less than Rp 500,000 a month. Honestly, I still need
financial support from my elder siblings and from my parents to
survive each month. Doesn't she think that my life is thrifty?

She is not an ideal figure for a president. She has so far
remained silent despite the unfavorable situation and the rampant
corruption in the country. If she gives a statement, it's not her
words but her subordinates' words.

I think it would be better for her to step down and for all
her Cabinet members to resign. They're no longer credible as
leaders of this country.

A'ak, 33, is a food vendor who lives in Petamburan, Central
Jakarta. He supports his wife and a daughter, who live in
Cirebon, West Java:

I don't think it's appropriate for Megawati, as the president,
to call on the entire country to live modestly. What she said had
really upset the poor.

We don't need her to tell us this because we are accustomed to
living in poverty.

I think what she said should be seen as a call for her to live
modestly, because she has never lived in unfortunate conditions.
Such a call should also be directed at the high-ranking officials
and her own family to learn how to live a simple life from the
poor people.

The most important thing to remember is that the poor only
need to be able to afford the staple foods.

We don't demand anything beyond our capacity as poor people.
We just need stable prices so that as a vendor I can run my
business and support my family.

I don't care who is president as long as they can ease the
lives of the poor.

Gito, 25, is an unemployed resident of Cililitan, East
Jakarta. He has been unemployed since graduating from university
last year:

Personally, I don't have any hard feelings about President
Megawati's recent call to live a modest life.

I mean, her words were not addressed to the right people
because every poor person has suffered from the increase in
utility and fuel prices. Her words mean nothing to us.

Ironically, she lives a lavish lifestyle, spending hundreds of
million of rupiah just to throw her husband a birthday party. Not
to mention her brother's glamorous life.

Why should she tell us to live modestly if she cannot set an
example for her people? She should direct her call to the rich
and the high-ranking officials to tighten their belts.

I think it would be better for her to step down. She is an
incompetent leader. Perhaps her successor could improve the
situation. Who knows?

-- Leo Wahyudi S