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220 焦点人物梅加瓦蒂
Newsmaker: Megawati Sukarnoputri
Gary Thomas
Jakarta
23 Jul 2001 16:54 UTC
Megawati Sukarnoputri is the new president of Indonesia following the 1)dismissal of President Abdurrahman Wahid by Parliament Monday. Ms. Megawati, the daughter of the late president Sukarno, lost her bid to be president in 1999 to Mr. Wahid and was instead elected vice-president. Until now she has kept a low 2)profile.
The name of Sukarno - the father of modern Indonesia and the country's first president - is magic to many Indonesians. Most 3)analysts say in 21 months as vice-president, Ms. Megawati has never demonstrated the kind of political skills her father had, and which are required to 4)tackle Indonesia's numerous social and economic problems.
Harold Crouch, Indonesia project director for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, says there are widespread doubts about Ms. Megawati's abilities. "It's automatic that the vice-president takes over. It's not a choice in that regard," he said. "So whether she's the best of a bad lot or whatever, she's the only choice, the only game in town, as they say. And that's partly why there's such a lack of 5)enthusiasm," says Mr. Crouch. "That's why there's almost indifference in much of the public because they don't see - it's not the forces of good 6)versus the forces of evil. It's just that he goes, another one comes in. There's not much confidence in Megawati, I'm afraid. But maybe she'll surprise everyone."
The 54-year-old housewife turned politician heads the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDIP. About five years ago, she emerged as a 7)focal point of opposition to then-president Suharto and became hugely popular. When Mr. Suharto fell, most people thought "Mega" as she is affectionately known - would easily become president, especially when her party won the biggest bloc of seats in Parliament in the 1999 elections. But political sources say she did not play the political game and reach out to various 8)factions. They say she acted 9)imperiously, as if the office would come to her by right. That allowed Mr. Wahid who held a far fewer number of seats to outmaneuver Ms. Megawati when it came time for Parliament to choose a president.
In the recent political crisis, she has remained mostly silent. And she has never given any clear indication of how she would deal with Indonesia's 10)myriad social and economic problems.
Dharmawan Ronodipuro, Mr. Wahid's former press secretary and spokesman, says the new administration can not afford to 11)leisurely 12)bask in the 13)afterglow of political victory and will have to get right to work. And, he adds, Parliament has found new political muscles in forcing out Mr. Wahid and will be watching the Megawati administration very closely. "There's no time for backslapping and for partying," he said. "I think that as a result of the special session, Parliament has demonstrated that it has a very important role to play. And I think that with the scrutiny that would be focused on the new administration, this new administration would have to work very seriously and should not take things for granted, like what Mr. Wahid's administration had done."
Ms. Megawati says she will name her cabinet over the next several days. But, like Mr. Wahid, she will have to preside over an inherently unstable 14)coalition and 15)placate numerous political forces to 16)hang on to power.
(1) dismissal[dIs`mIsEl]n.免职, 解雇, 不予考虑
(2) profile[5prEJfaIl]n.剖面, 侧面, 外形, 轮廓
(3) analyst[5AnElIst]n.分析家, 分解者
(4) tackle[5tAk(E)l]vt.固定, 应付(难事等), 处理, 解决
(5) enthusiasm[In5Wju:zIAz(E)m; (?@) -Wu:-]n.狂热, 热心, 积极性
(6) versus[5v:sEs]prep.对(指诉讼,比赛等中), 与...相对
(7) focal point焦点
(8) faction[5fAkF(E)n]n.派别, 小集团, 派系斗争, 小派系
(9) imperiously adv.专制地, 妄自尊大地
(10) myriad[5mIrIEd]n.无数, 无数的人或物adj.无数的,种种的
(11) leisurely[5leVElI]adv.从容不迫
(12) bask[bB:sk; (?@) bAsk]vi.晒太阳(享受温暖), 感到温暖
(13) afterglow[5B:ftE^lEJ]n.晚霞, 夕照
(14) coalition[kEJE5lIF(E)n]n.合并, 接合, 联合
(15) placate[plE5keIt; (?@) 5pleIkeIt]v.安抚
(16) hang on to v.紧紧握住
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