'Titiek' and search for a market-friendly president

'Titiek' and search for a market-friendly president

Kornelius Purba

Siti Hedijati "Titiek" Herijadi, the second daughter of former
president Soeharto, kept a smile on her face when a keynote
speaker mentioned her father's failure to control the greed of
his six children and their cronies.

The occasion was a ceremony on Tuesday in Jakarta, in
commemoration of the late Lt. Gen. Ali Moertopo, one of former
Soeharto's most trusted aides, who died on May 15, 1984.

She clearly realized that many guests looked at her every time
the speaker described how deaf and blind Soeharto was about his
children, including when he was reminded by Ali and the then
Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) chief, Gen. Benny Murdani, of the
cost to the president of his failure to control his own children.

Sometimes she whispered to the guest next to her, still with a
big smile. She stayed until the end of the ceremony and was on
the list of guests, including Golkar Party leader Akbar Tandjung,
who received a package of three books on the former information
minister, directly from Ali Moertopo's wife.

"She's so strong," legislator Sabam Sirait joked, when asked
about Titiek's cool reaction to the criticism.

Titiek and her siblings have been all too familiar with such
accusations since their father's downfall in May 1998. What is
important for them is that they remain untouchable. They just do
not care what people say about them, as indicated by the fact
that many of their business activities have continued to run
unhindered, even after Soeharto's fall. None of the five
presidential candidates has mentioned Soeharto or the immense
scale of the former first family's alleged corruption.

Surveys by several organizations and newspapers have revealed
that corruption, law enforcement and economic improvement are
regarded as the most important problems to be addressed by the
country's next president.

But it is also evident that people scarcely believe the
promises of the five presidential candidates on these issues.
Their campaign teams complain how difficult it is to attract
people to watch the candidates deliver their speeches. Most
campaign venues are empty, despite the presence of the candidates
and dangdut singers.

Public debates broadcast by TV stations in the beginning
attracted attention, but most of the candidates simply repeated
their regular answers, parrot-fashion. Given there is no
significant difference of view presented by the five nominees,
the excitement is wearing thin.

In a taped debate broadcast by Trans TV on Wednesday,
candidates Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Amien Rais talked about
the need to educate Indonesians from their childhood about
discipline and obedience to law. What kind of plan is that?

Euro 2004 is much more interesting than election programs!

The incumbent, President Megawati Soekarnoputri, and Amien
regularly visit traditional markets to meet people, probably
because foreign investors say they are waiting for a market-
friendly president. In the meantime, local governments continue
to demolish traditional markets because they believe such dirty
places should be replaced by ultramodern markets to attract
investors.

An editor working for a national newspaper complained how
difficult it was for the daily to give equal treatment to the
five presidential candidates: "Their promises are exactly the
same".

The newspaper produces a special report on the presidential
election campaign. However, as election campaigning is dull and
attended by only a few people, reporters and correspondents have
often said, "They say the same things over and over again".

"Our biggest problem is just how to fill the page with
election reports," the editor quipped.

What do the presidential nominees need to do to counter public
skepticism? Tough question. Probably, voters have made up their
mind on the candidates they will choose and therefore they do not
see any need to keep up with other candidates' campaigns.

For better or worse, many believe Amien benefits from this
skepticism. His popularity has reportedly increased in the last
few weeks, because many regard him as "the least sinful"
candidate. He has a better chance now by default -- more because
he has not done a lot in the last six years, rather than his
achievements as People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker.

Meanwhile, many women say they are attracted to Susilo, simply
because "he is the most handsome candidate".

When voters go to the polls on July 5, it is hard to expect
that they will have made up their minds after thorough
consideration based on all the information one would need to
choose a president.

Under these circumstances, it is quite possible that a runoff
will be held on Sept. 20 because it is unlikely that a candidate
will be able to win a simple majority in the first round.

Candidates have also begun to appreciate the extent of their
lack of credibility with the public and appear to be reducing
their public appearances because it is a waste of money and time
to talk to people who have no belief in what they say. Not much
can be done to improve the poor public perception of them.

The question is, how to face the Sept. 20 runoff, where two
candidates will fight for voters' attention? People hope the two
nominees will be better prepared -- at least by not repeating the
same speeches. Perhaps they could read poetry during their
campaign meetings.

Or they could declare, "I will resign if I fail to deliver on
my promises after my first year in office!" But then again, who
would believe such a pledge?

Kornelius Purba (purba@thejakartapost.com) is a staff writer of
The Jakarta Post.