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Is Megawati Turning Indonesia Around, at Last?
By Kazi Mahmood
11/12/2001
Local analysts in Jakarta are hailing President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government for recent actions taken to redress both law and order and the restructuring of the economy.
However, the nature of politics in democratic Indonesia is such that Megawati's government may be walking a tight rope and any silly mistakes may drive the regime to chaos and send the country deeper into the doldrums.
One analyst said that in the past two weeks, Megawati has assured the world community that Indonesia, under her stewardship, may be about to turn the corner after almost three years of political inertia in Indonesia.
The Suharto's
Among the various tendencies within Jakarta's political cauldron is a strong anti-Suharto sentiment. The downfall of Abdurrahman Wahid's regime early this year, and the negative views analysts and observers had of Megawati until the beginning of this month, were all linked to the Suharto family.
The Suharto's, the family of the former general who ruled the country for over 32 years with an iron fist, are the richest family in the country, according to informed sources.
The same source also said the family, whose wealth has been calculated at several billion dollars, also has interests in almost every single major development project in the country, and whom have also been linked to the chaotic situation that prevailed in East Timor, the territory that became independent during the rule of former President Burhanuddin J. Habibie.
General Suharto and his large family control a huge portion of business in the country, extending from factories to land development, and spreading into heavy industries such as the local car maker, "Putra".
They also have a heavy hand in banks, another source said, adding that this is the reason why Indonesia did not make any sensible progress since the downfall of General Suharto from power in 1998.
The same family has also maintained considerable influence over local madrassah's (Islamic religious schools) called "Pondok Pesantren" which are spread all over the vast archipelago of 15,000 islands.
And Suharto still has great influence in politics. The Partai Golongan Karia (Golkar Party), the party that served as the political base allowing the Suharto regime to rule the country, is still much in Suharto's control, albeit in the background.
Some observers like Aktar Johari, who now lives in Malaysia but is of Indonesian birth, says Suharto's son, Tommy, escaped the police for over a year thanks to General Suharto's still great influence in the police and military.
A local television station, Metro TV, reported that Tommy Hutomo Mandala Putra Suharto, the fugitive millionaire and youngest son of Suharto, was residing in a military compound a few months back. It also said military officers who lodged there were close to the Suharto family, since many were former bodyguards of the powerful and rich former ruler.
The arrest in early December of Tommy, however, may be sign that things may be under control in the police force. If Megawati has earned the respect of the police and they captured Tommy Suharto without making any deal beforehand, then the President may have less trouble in the future on the security side.
Indonesia, particularly Jakarta, where international businesses are channeled and the government is located, was growing insecure over the years while several bombing and robbery incidents marred Megawati's accession to power.
Catching Suharto's son was proving to be one matter while lawmakers were stumbling over how to keep Tommy in jail. The refusal of police officers to handcuff him has planted the seeds of doubt in the minds of many Indonesians that justice may never be served. An editor in Jakarta even lambasted the police chief for hugging Tommy in public after his arrest.
Tommy has been given too many special privileges while he is in police custody. He has been allowed to break the fast during Ramadan with his sisters and had a chance to visit his ailing father. Normal prisoners are not granted such privileges, people in Jakarta said, pointing at a possible deal between the police and the fugitive's family.
The euphoria over Tommy's arrest had barely settled when burning doubts from the largely anti-Suharto public propped up, mainly; Whether police, and eventually prosecutors, will have a water-tight case to bring against Suharto's son.
Police in Jakarta say they are confident in building a strong case against Tommy Suharto. However, experience over the past three years has shown that the bigger the name, the more complex the crime, the greater the loopholes. One frequent occurrence in recent high profile cases has been the defendant's sudden affliction by illness.
Legal expert Ahmad Ali is one of those who believes that as the interrogation drags on, Tommy's lawyers will probably claim that their client's physical condition is failing due to marathon questioning. This would open the possibility of him leaving detention and moving to a plush hospital room, Ahmad said.
"Tommy must've learnt from the case of Suharto [his father] and business tycoon Syamsul Nursalim," said Ahmad, who served as an expert staff member to the late Attorney General Baharuddin Lopa. Both were declared unfit by doctors to be tried in courts and both are resting at home, free of all charges.
Indonesia's Other Problems
While Megawati seems to be striking right in some areas, dark clouds, such as the fresh outbreak of religious violence on the island of Sulawesi, still hang over the ill-fated country.
The sudden death of Theys Eluay, a political opponent of the Jakarta-based Indonesian government from Irian Jaya, last month has also tarnished Indonesia's image.
It will also be difficult for the country to clear the black spots that have stained its human rights record if individuals like Eluay continue to disappear and land in graves.
Another grave concern is the situation in Aceh province, torn by relentless violence between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the TNI (Armed Forces of Indonesia).
The government is also pressing hard on new economic plans and economic restructuring programs, announcing a new plan that it hopes will end the stalemate between Jakarta and the provincial government of West Sumatra.
The two contenders are at odds over the privatization of state-owned cement maker Semen Gresik. The central government is displaying a new sense of urgency in dealing with the highly emotive issue after a year of stalemate.
Semen Gresik is due to be sold to Mexican cement manufacturer Cemex SA under a standing arrangement. The probable sale of Bank Central Asia (BCA) before the end of the year will give the government some satisfaction and it will look to 2002 with renewed optimism, sources said.
With these economic and political breakthroughs, Jakarta may have found a way to assure international investors that the country is still a viable business destination while meeting the demands of the provinces. If the overall security situation in Jakarta and elsewhere is bettered, then Megawati's government can justifiably claim that things are finally moving for her and for the country.
Otherwise, the government's entire economic reform program will be in jeopardy, and before the 2004 elections, Megawati's government may face the same fate as its predecessors.
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