Malang – The visit by President Megawati Sukarnoputri to the city of Malang in East Java on Saturday February 14, was greeted with a demonstration by students from the University of Brawijaya (Unibraw) Student Executive Council (BEM) and the Indonesian Muslim Student United Action Front (KAMMI) in front of the Unibraw campus..
The action, which was joined by no less than 30 students, was articulating their attitude to rotten leaders. “We reject all of the rotten politicians and leaders”, said Zany Pria Romadudin, the president of the Unibraw student executive told demonstrators.
As well as rejecting black politicians and leaders, BEM and KAMMI also rejected Megawati and Vice-President Hamzah Haz being nominated as presidential candidates in the 2004 general elections. They said that the Megawati-Hamzah duet has been proven to have failed in its leadership of Indonesia. “Their leadership report card is lousy. They are not suitable to be nominated again”, said Romadudin.
According to Romadudin, BEM and KAMMI have already determined a criteria for rotten politicians and leaders, this includes perpetrators of corruption, collusion and nepotism, those who have sold state assets, committed gross violations of human rights, destroyers of the environment, committed sexual crimes and those who not care about the poor or the suffering of their peers.
Romadudin said that there are rotten politicians and leaders who are in control of strategic posts. They are free to hold this power because they are supported by the court Mafia, bureaucrats, the conglomerates the pro-oppressive academics.
As an example of a rotten politician, Romadudin pointed to [Golkar Party chairperson] Akbar Tanjung. The release of Akbar Tanjung in the case of the embezzlement of 40 billion rupiah of Bulog (State Logistic Agency) non-budgetary funds, she said, reflects the sense of injustice. “Akbar Tanjung is a black politician who is unsuitable to lead this country. Just nominating Akbar [as a presidential candidate] is inappropriate”.
The rejection of these rotten leaders and politicians said Romadudin, is based on the country’s desperate need to have strong, honest and trustworthy leaders who can bring Indonesia back from the multi-dimensional crisis.
[Translated by James Balowski.]
