Shortcomings of Habibie, Megawati

With the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle coming out as the first winner and Golkar the runner-up in the last general election, people strongly assumed that Megawati Soekarnoputri or B.J. Habibie were the most suitable people to be the next president of this country. As a layman, I do not think it is wise for us to maintain this naive viewpoint if we really want to educate the people to be a member of the civil society in the world.

We have to open our eyes before we nominate someone for the top position, otherwise we will be dissatisfied for the next five years or maybe longer. Allow me to show the weaknesses of each of the above leaders.

Megawati, the daughter of the first president, was for about 20 years raised in the palace environment. I believe this will influence the way she manages the republic. I still remember that her father, Sukarno, starting from 1959 until the military took over in 1966, governed the country in a dictatorial style by introducing what he called Demokrasi Terpimpin or Guided Democracy. Many political party members were jailed without trial, especially members of the Islamic-based Masyumi party and the Indonesian Socialist Party (PSI).

Whether we like it or not, Megawati's popularity is inherited from her father, which to me smacks of indirect nepotism. If I am not mistaken, she has been in politics only about 10 years. Even though there is no direct relationship between intellectual capability and formal education, I strongly believe that Megawati, to be a successful president of a country of 200 million, should have an intellectual ability at least above average. Actually, as a daughter of a president, she had the opportunity to achieve the highest education level at home or even abroad. But she did not.

Habibie, on the other hand, worked for Soeharto for more than 20 years. No doubt he will adopt Soeharto's ways of behaving as president. A few years ago Habibie admitted that Soeharto was his mentor, especially in politics. And it is Soeharto who promoted him to be vice president and later president. Born to a Javanese mother and a Sulawesian father, Habibie, I think, will be committed to the Javanese philosophy mikul duwur mendem jero, always respect one's superiors and cover up whatever the superior does. This is evident from the way he deals with Soeharto's case; he has not brought Soeharto to trial for his alleged wrongdoing.

He also lacks seriousness in eradicating corruption, collusion and nepotism. Such cases as money politics, the Ghalib scandal, misuse of social safety net funds, the buyout of the Tanjung Jati B power plant and, most recently, the Bank Bali scam show that not much has changed.

Given the shortcomings of the two prominent figures, I suggest that the MPR not choose either of them as president of this country. We badly need a leader of integrity, who is smart, honest, wise and always listens to the people's voice.

M. SULHAN ASKANDAR

Jakarta