Yudhoyono vs Arroyo: Who fares better?
Saturday, February 9, 2008
YOU need four things to succeed in Indonesia, went the joke spawned by the 33-year-long Suharto reign. First is Swiss capital. Second is British management. Third is Japanese equipment. And fourth is an Indonesian general.
That wisecrack came to mind when the Indonesian president died late January. By then, the 86-year-old Javanese general withered over a decade in comfortable house arrest, like Joseph Estrada's detention in Tanay town, outside Manila.
Popular fury over corruption and runaway prices forced him to quit in May 1998. Indonesian courts ruled in 2000 that he was physically unfit to stand trial for corruption and massive infraction of human rights.
Indonesia changed in that span of time. How much is seen in Jakarta's hosting of a United Nations conference on graft. Suharto's generals insisted on dwi-fungsi (double function) rule: one finger on the trigger, another in the cookie jar. .
UN conference delegates saw, for example, Transparency Internationals annual listing of The World's 10 Most Corrupt Leaders. Suharto topped it, with embezzled funds amounting to between US$15 billion and US$35 billion ($21 billion to $50 billion). Former Phillipine president Ferdinand Marcos came in No 2 with US$5 billion to US$10 billion.
At US$78 million to US$80 million, Estrada wedged himself in slot No 10.
Indonesia is a linchpin for Southeast Asian stability. Its population of 246.8 million is almost triple that of the Philippines. It has oil. Despite deforestation that outstrips even Filipino loggers greed, its remaining forests remain the lung of Southeast Asia.
Indonesia ranks 108th, out of 177 nations, in human development, behind the Philippines at 84. And its leadership stomp radicals who would inflame this giant, the largest of Muslim countries.
Over the long pull, governance in Indonesia will affect the Philippines more than which trapo (traditional politician) gets to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. Thus, informal comments, by an experienced Filipino journalist, comparing leaders after the dictatorships of Marcos and Suharto, are relevant. On retirement, Eddia Lachica was serving with The Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau. Prior to that, he worked with the Philippines Herald and as DEPTHnews correspondent in Tokyo.
Lachica writes:
"What's troubling to some outside observers, like myself, is that in terms of democratic consolidation, the Philippines and Indonesia may be going in opposite directions. The late learner, Indonesia, is moving forward, albeit slowly but with promise of further gains. Enough dispiriting things are happening in Philippine politics to cause one to worry it may be going backwards."
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been in office for more than three years. How does his fortunes compare with those of President Gloria Arroyo? The record is mixed. But overall, he's done a good deal better by his people than Gloria has with hers.
The democratic paradox is: Winning big doesn't guarantee a successful administration. Your programme works only to the extent your fellow citizens allow it to.
Yudhoyono has gone against corruption, as part of his mandate. But so far, only a few high-profile grafters have been jailed. A slew of crooked businessmen fled abroad, some safely harboured in Singapore, until an extradition treaty can be worked out.
Corruption in the public sector is endemic. But this is due to an unspoken tolerance for poorly-paid civil servants picking up extra income so long as it isn't abusive or highly scandalous. It will take a generation or longer to bring governance up to Western standards.
But overall, this is less depressing situation than what you have in Manila.
Yudhoyono himself is clean as is his family. And on this point alone, his is a tolerably more honest administration than GMAs (Arroyos).
Yudhoyono has taken a few knocks even from his supporters for being too cautious to act decisively. He needs to break some eggs to make an omelete. But I'd take this slow-to-act, God-fearing man as president any day rather than the damn-the-public methods of Mrs Arroyo.
She may have an edge over Yudhoyono, though, in the management of the economy, at least for the short term.
Of course, her burden has been eased by the huge dollar earnings sent home by overseas workers. God knows where the country would be without them.
Be grateful, too, to America for it gave us English and an edge in competing for overseas jobs. Indonesia doesn't have anything like our bilingual competence and ability to pull in those billions of expatriate earnings.
Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
That wisecrack came to mind when the Indonesian president died late January. By then, the 86-year-old Javanese general withered over a decade in comfortable house arrest, like Joseph Estrada's detention in Tanay town, outside Manila.
Popular fury over corruption and runaway prices forced him to quit in May 1998. Indonesian courts ruled in 2000 that he was physically unfit to stand trial for corruption and massive infraction of human rights.
Indonesia changed in that span of time. How much is seen in Jakarta's hosting of a United Nations conference on graft. Suharto's generals insisted on dwi-fungsi (double function) rule: one finger on the trigger, another in the cookie jar. .
UN conference delegates saw, for example, Transparency Internationals annual listing of The World's 10 Most Corrupt Leaders. Suharto topped it, with embezzled funds amounting to between US$15 billion and US$35 billion ($21 billion to $50 billion). Former Phillipine president Ferdinand Marcos came in No 2 with US$5 billion to US$10 billion.
At US$78 million to US$80 million, Estrada wedged himself in slot No 10.
Indonesia is a linchpin for Southeast Asian stability. Its population of 246.8 million is almost triple that of the Philippines. It has oil. Despite deforestation that outstrips even Filipino loggers greed, its remaining forests remain the lung of Southeast Asia.
Indonesia ranks 108th, out of 177 nations, in human development, behind the Philippines at 84. And its leadership stomp radicals who would inflame this giant, the largest of Muslim countries.
Over the long pull, governance in Indonesia will affect the Philippines more than which trapo (traditional politician) gets to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. Thus, informal comments, by an experienced Filipino journalist, comparing leaders after the dictatorships of Marcos and Suharto, are relevant. On retirement, Eddia Lachica was serving with The Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau. Prior to that, he worked with the Philippines Herald and as DEPTHnews correspondent in Tokyo.
Lachica writes:
"What's troubling to some outside observers, like myself, is that in terms of democratic consolidation, the Philippines and Indonesia may be going in opposite directions. The late learner, Indonesia, is moving forward, albeit slowly but with promise of further gains. Enough dispiriting things are happening in Philippine politics to cause one to worry it may be going backwards."
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been in office for more than three years. How does his fortunes compare with those of President Gloria Arroyo? The record is mixed. But overall, he's done a good deal better by his people than Gloria has with hers.
The democratic paradox is: Winning big doesn't guarantee a successful administration. Your programme works only to the extent your fellow citizens allow it to.
Yudhoyono has gone against corruption, as part of his mandate. But so far, only a few high-profile grafters have been jailed. A slew of crooked businessmen fled abroad, some safely harboured in Singapore, until an extradition treaty can be worked out.
Corruption in the public sector is endemic. But this is due to an unspoken tolerance for poorly-paid civil servants picking up extra income so long as it isn't abusive or highly scandalous. It will take a generation or longer to bring governance up to Western standards.
But overall, this is less depressing situation than what you have in Manila.
Yudhoyono himself is clean as is his family. And on this point alone, his is a tolerably more honest administration than GMAs (Arroyos).
Yudhoyono has taken a few knocks even from his supporters for being too cautious to act decisively. He needs to break some eggs to make an omelete. But I'd take this slow-to-act, God-fearing man as president any day rather than the damn-the-public methods of Mrs Arroyo.
She may have an edge over Yudhoyono, though, in the management of the economy, at least for the short term.
Of course, her burden has been eased by the huge dollar earnings sent home by overseas workers. God knows where the country would be without them.
Be grateful, too, to America for it gave us English and an edge in competing for overseas jobs. Indonesia doesn't have anything like our bilingual competence and ability to pull in those billions of expatriate earnings.
Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
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