Chapter 1 - Introduction: Indonesia under Megawati

Summary

Introduction

The Megawati government was only about five months old at the time of writing. It seems rather unfair to pass judgment on the performance of a new government within a year. This is particularly so in the case of Indonesia, a large country and one rather difficult to govern, one that is faced with huge problems in almost every aspect of life. Megawati inherited difficult and complex problems that she must try to resolve within a political environment that is fragile, experimental, uncertain, and often bordering on anarchy. But the performance of the government should not be measured only by what it has delivered. The informed public does not expect Megawati to perform miracles. In fact, the general expectation has been rather modest in terms of what this government can deliver.

Megawati's first hundred days almost coincided with the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat, MPR), held from 1 to 9 November 2001. The MPR is the highest political body that elects the President (and Vice-President) and formulates the broad outlines of state policy to be implemented by the government. In the past the MPR met only once in five years. The annual session was introduced after the fall of Soeharto, as part of a political reform. While an accountability speech by the President will be given only at the end of the five-year term, the annual sessions of the MPR require the President to provide a progress report. There was not much that Megawati could report on at the November 2001 session.

Megawati's humble approach, by admitting that there was little progress, was well received by most factions in the MPR. The report was rather well-crafted in terms of outlining the main problems that Indonesia faced, but it lacked details on concrete plans and timetables for resolving them.