The new Megawati era
The new Megawati era
The nation should be grateful that the transition of power
from Abdurrahman Wahid to Megawati Soekarnoputri has been
relatively smoother than anticipated, without violence and more
significantly, without loss of life.
It is only to be regretted that the outgoing and outvoted
Abdurrahman Wahid, during his last hours of his presidency,
turned from being a democrat into a dictator, by issuing a decree
declaring the nation to be in a state of emergency and ordering
security forces to dissolve the House of Representatives and the
People's Consultative Assembly. A true democrat should know how
to win a political battle, but he also should learn how to accept
defeat with a big heart.
The new President, Megawati, while politically will face
practically no opposition, but face economic problems as a legacy
of former administrations, will be the hardest nut to crack. She
may perhaps face an "impossible mission" to satisfy the various
regions wishing to have a greater share of the national pie.
Social issues like unemployment and the refugee problem,
health and education are no less complicated to solve on a
national scale. The new Cabinet, while allowing space for a
political coalition to ensure legislative backing must consist of
men and women imbued with the spirit of service to the community,
be politically idealistic and above all be honest figures who are
determined to stick to their principles. However, corruption is
something that cannot be eradicated in one or two generations.
And Megawati and her Cabinet must at any minute guard themselves
against this devil trap.
While the whole nation, especially the female part of the
population, surely and heartily wish her all success in embarking
on a new task and on shouldering new responsibilities, she must
be constantly reminded that the enemies are those who start the
habit of whispering and bootlicking for her favor.
To govern the fourth most populated country in the world
living in a vast archipelago as Indonesia with its cultural
diversities, with such diversity of interests and human
characters, is actually a gigantic assignment nobody should
under-estimate. Except for the huge amount of foreign debt burden
which is an immensely long task to lessen, apparently the
international community, business and financial, will now have
greater trust in Indonesia's human resources and management
skill.
It is proper that the people are pinning great hopes to the
new leaders in the Megawati era to bring some more prosperity to
their life. They may rightfully hope for the best but they should
also prepare for the worst. After all, this is Indonesia, a very
special place for politicians.
GANDHI SUKARDI
Jakarta