The number two man
The number two man
The five-yearly meeting of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR), which will elect the republic's president and vice
president, is only four months away. But just the same, most
people are still reluctant to speak about the future national
leadership.
The reasons behind the mass silence are not pointless shyness
nor unnecessary politeness, but rather a certainty that their
opinions would be useless. This is because the ruling elite
practices a long and efficacious method in electing those to the
top spots.
Since President Soeharto will be surely reelected for a
seventh term in March, the only relevant topic today is who will
be the future vice president. Still, one does not see any
lobbying activities -- much less campaigns -- by potential
candidates. Nor are any questions asked about how many will be in
the running or whether the winner will be decided upon behind
closed doors.
Some politicians have vaguely eyed the second spot but have
not been courageous enough to speak up. Perhaps they remember the
number of potential candidates for future leadership that have
been smashed by the system.
Some political forces have said they would only announce their
candidates when the time was right, but news of their trivial
activities have paled into insignificance.
These attitudes are part of our culture, and the timid but
ambitious politicians have been defeated by the political system
even before they approach the battle field.
A political observer has said that making so much fuss about
the matter today will only lead to chaos. He was apparently
afraid there would be too many candidates from various social
groupings outside the country's highest lawmaking body.
On the other hand, every citizen with a fair idea of politics
is aware of how strategic the second spot has become. In fact it
has been regarded a strategic post for the past 15 years, ever
since Soeharto passed his prime by local standards.
However, the notion became less of an issue after he emerged
as healthy as ever after each presidential term. But next year
Soeharto will be 77 years old, far beyond the life expectancy of
the average Indonesian.
Now that the nation is facing a complex future, many have come
to believe that it is once again an issue worth considering, if
only for the setting of the criteria for Soeharto's second in
command between 1998 and 2003. Many people are aware that an heir
apparent needs preparation and a long apprenticeship.
Under this consideration the question now is: should the
making of a vice president be left to the MPR alone? Should the
people remain silent about the important issue of their future
and -- as Indonesians like to say -- let the sky fall on them?
Or should they sleep to the accompaniment of lullaby-like
rumors amid murky activities and confusing speculation, only to
wake up to the dizzying reality that even political pundits
don't appear to know what is going on.
It is impressive to see how Singapore and Malaysia prepare
their future leaders. But we still remember how Indonesia and the
Philippines submerged into chaos in the aftermaths of presidents
Sukarno and Ferdinand Marcos, under whom citizens were not
allowed to think about their future.
If people were to discuss candidates for the second most
important post it would not mean they were venturing outside the
system. Instead they would be providing the MPR factions with new
ideas and input.