---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- SUPANGKAT'S COLUMN: DOES HABIBIE HAVE: SKILL, AUTHORITY, LEADERSHIP TO GOVERN? It has been a public secret for a long time that President Habibie lacks legitimacy as the most powerful President in the whole world according to the 45 Contsitution simply because the deposed President Suharto just handed over power to him without the approval of any existing Legislative entity. Geopolitically, Indonesia is the most strategic archipelagic nation in Asia, it is the largest Muslim country in the whole world, the fourth largest as well behind China, India, the United States. It has the most resourceful vast natural wealth un- equaled in Asia, Africa, Latin America, perhaps in the whole world having oil, gas, gold, diamond, and all kinds of minerals, spice, lumber, fishes, shrimps, etc. and last but not least, huge manpower to do massive modern agriculture and industrialization. This great country has to be governed by a very special skilled man with charisma, authority and leadership to be effective, especially when taken into account that it is not one piece of land, it consists of over ten thousand islands, islets and atol- ls whose people are of most diverse languages and cultural background. Former President Sukarno met all the requirements for a great leader of this united in diversity archipelago except for his economic vision which was very much lacking if anything at all, bringing the country into a stagnant economy. But he never bor- rowed from foreign loans like a mad compulsive gambler the way Suharto did by selling out its natural resources the way former President Suharto did during his tenure of 32 years. Sukarno limited foreign debt to US$ 2.5 billion comparing to Suharto who has ballooned up our foreign debt to almost hundred times as much using and ab- using them at will based on sheer absolute power and a little economy of the Berkeley Magia. So we never had the right leader, we never had the chance to develop naturally as a great country for 54 years of independence. What about President Habibie? Does he have: skill at least intuitive prowess since he didn't have proper education to govern? Does he have and authority and leadership? None of the above, not to speak of charisma both Sukarno and Suharto had in which he doesn't have a single iota of it. Besides, he doesn't have even legitimacy for which he was resented nationwide except by his own chronies. All President Habibie does have is money, not even from his own pocket but mis- appropriated from state funds to be used for emergency proper. And the timing is hypercrtical as we are suffering from multiple-crisis where our foreign debt had to be increased instead of terminated or at least lessenned because they have no funds at all to finance the government even in minimal amount. About half of the population of 220 million are getting poorer and poorer if not destitute, about 10 million are suffering from the incurable hungeroedema. In the meantime the economic rehabilitation stagnated, even was inflicted a serious setback by unabated corruption, most notorious the Bank Bali corruption. Political stability is worsening by Habibie's untimely decisions: to give the option for independence of East Timor which created an unstoppable paranoia in Dilli and in the international community. It was a diplomatic suicide which had to be excecuted by Alatas, a long time anti-independence diplomat. To make his case worse, he stopped the corruption probe of his former boss President Suharto when almost concurrently his son Tommy was dismissed by the criminal court. President Habibie insisted to be nominated as President. This proved his ignorance about his shortcomings regarding his own capability and capacity, about the worsening multiple national crisis, both of such a superlative magnitude. And how about his conscience seemingly lacking as well in view of his clinging to militarism already disgraced in politics? For heaven's sake, have mercy on poor Habibie, our poor people and our poor country! Who can make Habibie see the living realities? New York, October 16, 1999. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 16 Oct 1999 jam 17:10:59 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
