---------------------------------------------------------- The US government makes available 55.000 GREEN CARDS (permanent residence visa) in a random lottery. Visit http://www.us-immigration.org for details on how to play the GREEN CARD LOTTERY -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Indonesia Daily News Online http://www.indo-news.com/ Free Email @KotakPos.com visit: http://my.kotakpos.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------- The Nation, August 31, 2000 Guest Column/Politics IN PRAISE OF ABDURRAHMAN WAHID A long time friend of the Indonesian president pays a private visit and finds that everything is under control By: Sulak Sivaraksa Despite western press reports to the contrary, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid is still politically strong. He enjoys popular support from the military and the masses. This is the impression I got from a recent visit to Indonesia, where I interviewed the president and accompanied him on a tour of the country. When Thammasat University observed the centennial anniversary of its founder, Mr Pridi Banomyong, on May 10, I invited Mr Wahid to be the keynote speaker. Later that month, he asked Mr Habibie, the former president, to invite me to join the first symposium of the newly opened Habibie Centre in Jakarta. During my short stay in the Indonesian capital, I had a pleasant dinner with Mr Wahid, and he invited me to breakfast at the presidential palace. He told me I am welcome to stay at the presidential residence whenever I visit Jakarta. That chance came last month. As promised, we-I brought along four Buddhist friends-stayed over in the presidential residence. There, we were joined by a number of Indonesian Buddhists. Mr Wahid warmly and graciously received each and every one of us. Our residential quarter had hosted numerous foreign dignitaries, including King Sihanouk of Cambodia. As a result, we led a kingly existence for a few days. Moreover, I had an opportunity to accompany Mr Wahid on an official trip to Surabaya, which is located on the northeastern part of Java. Mr Wahid had to meet and discuss issues with the members of his movement. Upon his arrival, a crowd of more than 100,000 people had already gathered to express their support for him. They received him with a rapturous ovation. And for approximately two hours they stood under the sun's fierce heat to listen to various speeches, including Mr Wahid oration. I was told that many of them had travelled from distant cities and towns, using their own expenses. After delivering the oration, Mr Wahid presided over the opening of an art exhibition to promote the works of local artists. In other words, Mr Wahid is an aesthetic person. He appreciates beauty and art like he appreciates and upholds truth and morality. By morality, I do not simply mean Islam, Mr Wahid's religion. I can be said that Mr Wahid is restive and supportive of the ethical standards of all religions. At the very least, he places great emphasis on non-violence and peaceful resolution of conflict like Mahatma Gandhi. He also insists that historically speaking Buddhism and Brahmanism had strongly influenced Indonesia culturally and ethically. In fact, Indonesia had been a Buddhist and a Hindu nation before becoming a Muslim one. Hence, Mr Wahid contends, Indonesian Muslims must not forget his important fact. Even if Christianity is a relatively new religion in Indonesia, Christians must be equally and compassionately treated in society. The Muslim extremists think otherwise, and what this meant for the Indonesian Christians and Buddhists, who are mostly of Chinese origin, is now all too tragically clear. DIFFUSING A TIME BOM Although treading a tightrope, Mr Wahid is competently working to defuse the religious time bom in Indonesia. We must not forget that many of the chronic problems confronting Indonesia today are the direct consequences of its postwar history. For approximately four decades, Indonesia had been corruptly and often brutally ruled as a private tyranny. As a result, the military has become a state within a state, involved in a wide array of corrupt and illegal activities. Domestic dissent and democratic tendencies had been continuesly crushed. And the United States and transnational corporations had dominated the country, particularly during the Suharto regime. It is impossible to solve these problems overnight. It is also impossible to find a better substitute for Mr Wahid. At present, no one is as capable, competent, just, trustworthy, morally upright, honest, confident yet modest, affable, simple, and often humorous as he is. Reading the English-language newspapers, we get the impression that the Wahid presidency is extremely fragile politically. However, if we seriously consider the views of ordinary Indonesians from the grassroots, we will begin to realise that Mr Wahid is widely respected for his political acumen and creativity: it begins to down on us that Mr Wahid is in fact very popular. We must remember that as a man who represents the poor, a person who is from and supported by the grassroots, Mr Wahid is the 'bete noire' of transnational corporations, multilateral trade and financial institusions, and other centres of power. They have a stake in discrediting him. Likewise, many western- educated Indonesians are questioning Mr Wahid's political manoeuvres and accomplishments. They have explicitly doubted his ability to cope with, among other things, corruption and separatist movements in the country. DISCARD PREJUDICES If we discard the western lenses and hold our prejudices at bay, we will better understand the context of the situation in Indonesia. We may begin to comprehend the Javanese culture, which is a mixture of Wayang and Inao peppered with Ramayana and Mahabarata. In turn, we will better understand and appreciate the role of Mr Wahid even if we are still unable to fathom the impacts that Islam has on him. I may be a biased observer. For over three decades, Mr Wahid and I have maintained a close and intimate friendship. We seem to understand each other fairly well. We have been supportive of one another, especially in times of trouble. For instance, Mr Wahid extended his support and help when I fell prey to the sadistic joy of the reactionary Thai ruling clique, military or otherwise. Nevertheles, it is impossible to deny that Mr Wahid relies on goodwill and compassion to resolve conflicts. He does not treat his domistic and international opponents as enemies. Rather he deals with them sincerely and benignly. Mr Wahid knows their hidden agendas but tries to channel their energy to help find solutions to the problems ravaging the country. Thus Mr Wahid has been able to win the allegiance of many Indonesian generals. He even fired one of the most powerful generals in the country: he must have been fairly confident of receiving continued support from the military. During a tour of Melan, I witnessed how Mr Wahid firmly but sincerely dealt with the military generals. He even peppered his conversation with them with some humour. The generals seem to support him. President Wahid showed no favouritism to the military generals. He told them that Indonesia is still a very poor country. Although he wants to bolster the military, the plight of the poor also demands immediate attention. The military cannot benefit at the expense of the poor people. He encouraged the military to limit their role to protecting the national security of the country and to disengage from illegal economic activities. The Indonesian military establishment as well as its Thai counterpart have underwent some positive changes, helping to make democracy more meaningful in both countries. In Melan, Mr Wahid somehow managed to find the time to pray with the poor local people. Surely, he has driven by faith, not by the desire to perform a clever public relations stunt. Mr Wahid also went to pay homage to and pray at the grave of his mentor and religious teacher. MAN OF THE PEOPLE As a president who represents the poor and challenges the centres of power, Mr wahid will inevitably incur the wrath of the rich and powerful. In the past, the rich and powerful could not tolerate President Julius Nyrere, who embarked on socialistic programmes and undermined the interests of the capitalist investors. On the other hand, President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic has constantly warned against the treat of unregulated capitalism and transnational corporations. However, he has not launched any concrete programmes to oppose both of these threats. President Wahid seeks changes and remedies to the grave socio- economic issues confronting his country and the world. Partly due to his health problem, he chose a non-confrontation approach. Mr Wahid will probably be able to resist the pressure to conform to the international agenda set by the rich and powerful though I am told that the American ambassador to Jakarta is increasingly intolerant of Mr wahid. My brief tour with Mr Wahid further augments my respect for him. One of President Sukarno's great accomplishments was the Bandung Conference of 1955. It was a notable gathering of non- aligned leaders and countries. Even the Thai government sent Prince Wanwaitayakorn to Bandung to meet Chou Enlay of China. Prime Minister Phibun Songkhram ultimately, albeit belatedly, recognised the danger of unequivocally seconding US foreign policy. Subsequently, the United States backed General Sarit Thanarat, who removed Phibun from power and strengtened the special relationship between Bangkok and Washington. Within the next 5 years, President Wahid vows to organise a second Bandung conference. It will be a meeting of non-aligned peoples demanding for freedom from political and econimic domination, for social, economic, and cultural diversity. It will be a forum for small and weak states to coalesce with dignity and equality. President Wahid's term will expire in 2004. Hopefully, he will be able to complete his term. Needless to say, immense obstacles await him. However, he seems to be endowed with the right combination of mind and heart, rendering his vision potent enough to confront short-term problems and to lay the bedrock for long term peace and prosperity. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 7 Sep 2000 jam 09:50:24 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
