The President is back

There were some very serious concerns on the eve of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's trip to the United States and Japan. What if the U.S. launched a military strike against the country that is supposedly harboring Osama bin Laden, who, according to senior U.S. officials, was the mastermind behind the horrendous September 11 attacks, while President Megawati was in Washington? How would she cope with the aggressive American media when she emerged from her meeting with President George W. Bush?

Even though she has a charming and disarming smile, that alone would not be enough to satisfy the inquisitive American media, which would certainly like to know whether she was for or against military action.

Needless to say, as President of the fourth most populous country in the world with a majority that embraces Islam, her answer, either way, would have most likely caused repercussions that would be detrimental to Indonesia's interests. Fortunately, the worst case scenario did not materialize. As a matter of fact, the meeting between the two presidents obtained significance beyond that which many had hoped for.

One could gather from the excellent television coverage that President George W. Bush appreciated Megawati's visit, as if it conveyed the message that even under the difficult circumstances a female president from a vast archipelagic state with a population of more than 200 million made the effort to visit the White House.

In as much as this psychological breakthrough is important as far as Indonesia's national interests go, it is of even greater importance for us to know exactly what we can expect from the U.S. in the way of assisting Indonesia to overcome its myriad of economic and financial problems. It also reflects our President's farsighted thinking in that she took the time to officiate and attend the energy conference in Houston. The oil and gas sector in Indonesia is one of the main pillars of the national economy. However, the sizable investments it continuously requires to maintain the exploration and exploitation activities also means that it is essential for foreign oil and gas companies to operate in secure and predictable conditions.

President Megawati's statement before the participants of that energy conference in Houston was, of course, welcomed. However, upon her return in Jakarta a pile of problems are awaiting a clear decision. That, apparently, was also the message conveyed to her during her stopover in Tokyo. Japan's big companies are waiting for a clear decision regarding the status of a number of huge projects in which Japanese investments are involved.

That the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington would create repercussions domestically could be foreseen. But that certain groups should whip up religious emotions as if the U.S. was waging a war against the Islamic community of the world, that should not be tolerated.

President Megawati should be clear on this point, based on her direct conversation with President George W. Bush and other senior U.S. officials. She should convey to the people that the U.S. is not waging a war against Islam and the Islamic community. She should tell Indonesians clearly that if practices such as what has been referred to as "sweepings" and threats against Americans and other foreigners are tolerated, it is the Indonesian economy that will suffer. Consequently, the number of unemployed would increase and social stability would deteriorate.

That is why it is of utmost importance that President Megawati call on Indonesians in these difficult times to maintain national unity at all costs and uphold respect for law and order. This also means to remind Vice President Hamzah Haz that as the No. 2 person in this country, his job is to strengthen unity and not make ambiguous statements for the purpose of getting a head start on outflanking Amien Rais, as if the presidential race of 2004 was already on. Amien Rais, the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and current chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), said a while ago that if his party succeeds in winning 20 percent of the popular vote in the 2004 elections, he would put himself up as a presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, even as the U.S. economy is faced with problems, which given its dominant role is certain to have global consequences, it is fair to say that President Megawati's visit to the U.S. and Japan achieved some meaningful results in Indonesia's national interest. However, her administration should work very hard, as she also stated in her August 16 Independence Day speech, to follow up on those achievements. She should unceasingly remind the nation that internal conflict and the tendency to use violence will only push Indonesia further into the abyss.