Preface

Summary

Indonesia faces challenges on many fronts, or, as it is commonly said in Indonesia itself, the country continues to face a “multidimensional crisis”. Paralysis gripped the political structure from early 2001, as the Abdurrahman Wahid administration became virtually moribund and was unable to provide leadership on any issue. When Megawati Sukarnoputri acceded to the presidency, speculation was rife about what sort of government she would lead. Her strong Cabinet line-up immediately raised expectations that this would be an executive that would face up to the myriad problems facing Indonesia, and this was evident from the dramatic strengthening of the rupiah immediately after the announcement. However, within months disillusionment with the leadership of the executive was evident once more. To make matters worse, the recent Bali bombing dramatically demonstrated that international terrorism had come to Indonesia. Not only does terrorism add to an already overcrowded agenda, it could very well be the greatest challenge for Megawati's government.

This volume features a series of chapters that explore some of the major issues that confront the Megawati administration. This book largely stems from a public forum entitled “The First 100 Days of President Megawati: Political and Economic Perspectives”, jointly hosted in Singapore by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on 1 November 2001. Addresses given at this forum by Todung Mulya Lubis, Jusuf Wanandi, Azyumardi Azra, Mohammad Sadli, Anggito Abimanyu, and J. Soedradjad Djiwandono are included in this volume. New chapters have also been added to supplement the original seminar papers. The forum brought together a group of individuals who can claim to be academics and practitioners. The idea behind the forum on 1 November 2001 was to assess the general direction, and the prospects, of the Megawati administration after its first 100 days. It was generally agreed that this time period is too short in which to evaluate any administration, although some broad trends may be discernible. Rather than an assessment of the presidency itself, the chapters in this volume all assess some of the key issues that will confront the Megawati administration.