Smart Megawati

Smart Megawati

Being smart is different from being clever. Megawati is not
said to be clever; she is said to be smart. Prof. Budiyatna said
that it was not right for Megawati to say she disagrees with
Abdurrahman Wahid's stepping down. Professor, you have forgotten
that Megawati is actually very smart. Being smart is more
valuable than just being clever. A professor is clever but he is
not necessarily smart. When Habibie was president, a professor
was assigned to trace Soeharto's assets abroad. Unfortunately, as
he was not smart, he returned home quickly and said that Soeharto
did not keep his assets, not even a cent, abroad.

Once a customs officer on duty at Kemayoran Airport saw a
passenger leave the airplane lugging a piece of bamboo along with
some other luggage. He suspected the bamboo contained a bird that
was forbidden to be transported off the island. As he was smart,
he whistled and the bird hidden in the bamboo whistled back,
making it easy for the officer to take custody of the passenger.

Prior to the last general election, there was a fuss about
letting a woman become president, but Megawati did not get angry.
Even when a professor expressed doubt about her religious faith,
Megawati kept cool. She simply went on a haj pilgrimage for the
umpteenth time. Here lies Megawati's smartness. Finally, her
party won the election although toward the end of it there were
leaflets saying things to discredit her. Megawati knew precisely
how to win popular sympathy. The more she was subjected to
condemnation, the more the people were willing to sympathize with
her.

It is difficult to separate Megawati from Abdurrahman. Their
friendship has gone back a long way. Before the last general
election, both paid homage to their family's graves, giving the
impression that it was Abdurrahman who has for all these years
led Megawati to maturity, especially when she was subjected to
condemnation. Thanks to Abdurrahman, Megawati became acquainted
with Prof. Amien Rais, Gen. (ret) Wiranto and Sri Sultan Hamengku
Buwono X. So when the relationships soured between Gus Dur and
Amien Rais, and then Akbar Tandjung and some other figures, and
then Megawati flirted with shaking Abdurrahman's presidency,
Megawati knew all too well what is pure persuasion and what is
persuasion with an ulterior motive. It was still fresh in her
mind how the grim July 27 tragedy came about and also how
slanderous the leaflets attempting to negate her success story
were distributed to discredit her.

Megawati's father, the late Bung Karno, who proclaimed
Indonesia's independence on Aug. 17, 1945, was very well
acquainted with Muhammadiyah, a social Muslim organization. He
liked Muhammadiyah so much that he named his first child Mohammad
Guntur and his second Diyah Permata Megawati Soekarnoputri.
History cannot be faked although many people have tried to fake
it. May Abdurrahman and Megawati's partnership symbolize the
unity between NU and Muhammadiyah.

H. IFRODI SUKANTO

Jakarta