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Presidential candidates in Indonesia are gearing up for feisty
campaigning ahead of the July Presidential election.
Contesting the election will be incumbent President Megawati
Sukarnoputri; former security chief Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
and former armed forces chief General Wiranto from the Golkar
party.
While opinion polls shows that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is
running ahead of his rivals, General Wiranto's recent effort
to make peace with East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao has
drawn attention.
To what extent does General Wiranto's candidacy signal a
return to the Suharto-era political environment?
Felix Tan put this question to Professor Arief Budiman (AB),
of Melbourne University in Australia:
AB: No, I do not think that this will be a comeback to the
Suharto-era. If you mean the military will come back again
to rule Indonesia as Suharto did. But for sure that Wiranto
seems to be a professional leader that try to come back and
he has relatively pretty successful for his purpose.
Now, given his track record so far, how will the majority
of Indonesians view him as a potential leader?
AB: Well, he has Golkar on his back and Golkar has a lot
of professional politicians who work across Indonesia. So,
I think he will have a substantial vote even if he may not
be winning the election. But his support and because Wiranto
works with a political machine that is professional and so
I would not be surprise if Wiranto will be one of the most
serious candidates in the 2004 election.
Now there have been reports that say that Wiranto has suggested
the death penalty for anyone who is found guilty of corruption
charges. But do you think that this is a bit too harsh?
AB: No, I think that for an election campaign, this will
be a good point to make - whether it will be carried, that
is another problem because Indonesia is very good in making
statements, but the implementation is very far lacking behind.
Let s hope that Wiranto does not hesitate to make that statement,
but then Indonesia will forgive him if that statement is not
implemented later on.
We know that Wiranto has the military backing as well he
being a former General. Now, do you think that if Wiranto
becomes the President will he be using the military as one
of the means to curb corruption or even freedom for that matter
- just to uphold the law?
AB: I think in terms of corruption, he may do that because
Wiranto will use anything to enhance his popularity and his
acceptance amongst the people. But I think it is not the time
anymore to curb human rights with the military. So, even if
Wiranto wants, I mean, it will be difficult because civil
society in Indonesia has been very strong and especially Wiranto
knows that that kind of things would be unpopular. But I think
Wiranto will not use the military to, again to repress human
rights in Indonesia. Again because of not because of principles,
but because of pragmatic politics.
Now, what do you think is the main issue facing Indonesia
at this moment, which the Presidential candidates should tackle
right now?
AB: I think the main issue is to have a strong leadership.
Strong does not mean authoritarian& so, a strong leadership
that is respected by the people, but at the same time, democracy
has to be developed and maintained as much as possible. And
also an international recognition is important especially
because Indonesia needs a lot of foreign aid to recover with
the economic difficulties now Indonesia is facing.
How will the international community view these presidential
candidates, especially countries like United States and Australia
- the closest neighbour to Indonesia?
AB: Well, sometime politics is very pragmatic. At the moment,
if Wiranto is not popular and even has very bad image in the
international community, but if Wiranto is elected as President,
I think that Australia, even East Timor and United States
will change their positions, especially if Wiranto becomes
an effective leader in Indonesia. So, I do not see any problem
in the future because, again, politics have no permanent trends,
but has only permanent interests.
With an array of presidential hopefuls in Indonesia at this
moment, I mean, how would this affect the process of democracy
in Indonesia?
AB: I think the process of democracy has been rolled on and
I think democracy depends very much on the acts of civil society.
At the moment, I think Indonesia has a strong civil society.
So, I think democracy will be maintained in Indonesia, even
if there is a military leader that becomes president, like
Wiranto or Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. So, I believe that democracy
is not a matter of individuals, but a matter of the power
of civil society. So, I think Indonesia will still maintain
the democracy.
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