'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.