The Week In Review: Awaiting the moment of truth

Sun, 07/05/2009 11:29 AM  |  Opinion

The Chinese general Sun Tzu once said: "If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies, but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."

His saying is still followed by many today, even centuries after his death. It is unfortunate that Indonesia's three presidential candidates could not tighten their grip on the saying. They have only focused on revealing their programs and plans for the next five years, but have failed to attack (criticize) each other directly or indirectly.

As Indonesia enters the cooling off session of the month-long campaign period for the July 8 presidential election, many of us feel relieved because not only are we no longer trapped in the already chaotic traffic due to the mass gatherings of campaign rallies, but also because we no longer have to endure the dull presidential debates on television.

Like it or not, many of us, who had expected the debates would be as hot and as interesting as those in the United States, were disappointed with the quality.

It turned out the debate among the three presidential candidates - incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri - offered no opportunity - or perhaps they preferred not to have one - for each of them to launch "verbal attacks" on the platforms or programs of their rivals.

The vice presidential debates followed suit. Yudhoyono's running mate, former Bank Indonesia governor Boediono; Kalla's running mate, former Indonesian military commander Wiranto; and Megawati's partner, former chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command, Prabowo Subianto, were all polite to each other on stage, there were no signs of the negativity expressed by their campaign team members on separate stages.

Even in this week's final sessions of the presidential and vice presidential debates, there were no major changes in the candidates' performance. They spoiled their chances to turn a dull debate into a red-hot debate. Regardless, of whether it is a one or two round election, the public's major concern is that the elected president will be able to make improvements in all sectors that directly influence their lives.

Despite the campaign hype, eligible voters still need to check if they are listed with the General Elections Commission (KPU) while there is still time. It is important to avoid what happened during the April 9 legislative elections where, according to a finding by the House of Representatives' committee, some 50 million voters were not listed. Every vote counts and the KPU must make sure that all eligible citizens can vote.

Although we are eagerly welcoming the so-called "democracy party", the nation should remain vigilant to an existing but ignored threat: the H1N1 virus. The government had, for weeks, claimed that the country was relatively free from the virus. However, the recent case of 14 Indonesian students quarantined in Singapore, and a family in Medan, North Sumatra, isolated from the virus show that our Health Ministry has failed to do its homework.

When the H1N1 virus surfaced for the first time in Mexico, the government immediately installed thermal scanners, especially in the North Sulawesi capital Manado that was hosting the World Ocean Conference at the time. But today, there are no thermal scanners in the domestic sections of Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport or Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport.

As a country with the highest number of deaths from avian influenza or H5N1- 121 died out of 145 patients infected with the virus - Indonesia should have learned a valuable lesson on how to handle H1N1. Even after the World Health Organization raised the alert level for H1N1 influenza to its highest possible level of pandemic, the Health Ministry failed to immediately take necessary measures.

Another rising concern this week was the possibility of slashing the Corruption Eradication Commission's power, thus jeopardizing the anti graft campaign. The long-delayed deliberation of the corruption court bill is nearing its deadline by the end of the year. However, lawmakers have said that the issuance of the regulation-in-lieu-of-law on the Corruption Court is not urgent, arguing that the Attorney General's Office has the authority to investigate corruption cases.

The Constitutional Court ruled in 2006 that the establishment of the current Corruption Court had violated the Constitution. It also ordered the government and the House of Representatives to enact a new law to provide a firm legal basis for the Corruption Court by December 2009, otherwise the court would have to be dissolved and hand its cases over to district courts.

Another highlight was, of course, the unbelievably upsetting final match of the Copa Dji Sam Soe between Persipura Jayapura and Sriwijaya FC last Sunday. Regardless of how fair or unfair the referee was, walking out of an ongoing match hurt the true meaning of sportsmanship and fair play. Therefore, disciplinary action toward Persipura is understandable even if Papua decides to ban all its players from joining the national team. Sportsmanship and fair play are two of the most respected values in sport. Without them, victory is meaningless. Too bad this was not the first incident in Indonesia's sporting history. It reflects how we, Indonesians, still have difficulties in accepting defeat and reaching for victory.

- Primastuti Handayani

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