Arab News Editorial

There are many people, not just in Indonesia, who will agree with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri when she branded the West exceptionally unjust against the Muslim world. Megawati was particularly critical of the US invasion of Iraq in her opening address to an Islamic conference being held this week in Jakarta. She cited the French government’s imminent ban on the wearing of headscarves in state schools as another injustice.

Both have been widely condemned by others, not least in the United States and France themselves. Yet Megawati’s attack was ill-advised. The Indonesian president is on the election trail, hoping to be returned to office this July. The conference she was addressing was organized by the Nahdatul Ulama (NU), which, with 40 million members in Indonesia, is the world’s largest Muslim organization. Megawati knows that her position is threatened by her administration’s inability to implement reforms and to crack down on the rampant corruption which still disfigures public life. If the NU endorses her campaign, she believes that she will have a powerful supporter in her struggle to retain power.

However, there will be many who deplore such a blatant playing of the Muslim card. Every one of her more than 20 declared challengers, who include her two sisters and the daughter of disgraced former President Suharto, could claim with equal vigor to be affronted by Western injustice toward Islam. However this is not the key issue at stake in Indonesia.

Megawati came to power in July 2001 following the parliamentary dismissal of Abdurrahman Wahid. The angry popular demonstrations ceased, and for a while even the separatist violence in the provinces of Aceh and Papua abated. Insofar as she restored and has since maintained stability, Megawati has achieved something of importance. However, she has failed to push through the wide-ranging reforms her country needs. She has been unable to break the hold of the kleptocracy that has dominated Indonesian society since the last days of her father, President Sukarno. In this respect the problems of Indonesia bear comparison with those that confront President Gloria Arroyo in the Philippines.

Both presidents have struggled in vain to break the power of the rich elites from whose ranks they themselves come. Megawati’s problems have been compounded by the still strong influence of the military in Indonesian politics. At stake are the hopes of ordinary Indonesians who want a fairer share of their country’s wealth and improved opportunities and welfare. Megawati may still be able to convince voters that she can do better with a second presidential mandate. But instead of attempting to harness Islam to her cause she must stick to the real issues.