THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GUS DUR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 013379

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KDEM KISL ID
SUBJECT: THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GUS DUR

REF: A. JAKARTA 13303 (NU CONSERVATISM)


B. JAKARTA 13304 (PKB SPLIT)

C. JAKARTA 11376 (JAKARTA GOVERNOR'S RACE)

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Classified By: Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe, reason: 1.4 (d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) During a November 30 meeting with the Ambassador, an
uncharacteristically reserved former President Abdurrachman
Wahid (aka Gus Dur) gave his views on U.S.-Indonesia
relations and President Bush's visit, Indonesia's economic
shortcomings, and developments within Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
and the National Awakening Party (PKB). Wahid was unsparing
in his criticism of President Yudhoyono, but generally
optimistic about the overall direction of the country. He
appeared to be in relatively good health and answered
questions clearly and in a measured, statesmanlike fashion.
End Summary.

U.S. INDONESIAN RELATIONS
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2. (C) Gus Dur characterized President Bush's November 20
visit as a success, telling the Ambassador he believed
U.S.-Indonesian relations were generally healthy. The former
President noted the protests by several Islamic movements in
the lead-up to the visit and expressed satisfaction with the
fact that the visit unfolded as planned despite the best
efforts by some to obstruct it. He felt, however, that the
visit did not help SBY politically as Yudhoyono failed to
articulate to the Indonesian people how the visit would
benefit them.

FAILING GRADES FOR SBY ON ECONOMY
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4. (C) Gus Dur sharply criticized SBY's stewardship of the
economy, decrying a lack of urgency in implementing much
needed reform and condemning what he saw as an overall lack
of consistency in his approach to the economy. Noting SBY's
heavy overseas travel schedule, Gus Dur questioned his
priorities as President and asked rhetorically "how can he
justify all these trips abroad (given conditions at home)?"
(Note: We point out the irony of this argument coming from a
former President that was routinely criticized for his
overseas travel. End Note)


5. (C) Wahid also took SBY to task for what he said was SBY's
myopic focus on the "growth approach" to the economy. This
excessive emphasis on growth was damaging and needed to be
balanced by a parallel focus on distribution. After the
Ambassador pointed out that both growth and distribution were
hampered by the ruinous forces of corruption, Gus Dur agreed
that comprehensive economic reform would not be possible
without first tackling corruption.


6. (C) When the Ambassador noted the success of regional
economies such as Vietnam in attracting investment and
expressed hope that Indonesia would soon follow suit, Gus Dur
lamented the double edged sword of the global economy. He
conceded global forces were here to stay and acknowledged the
obvious benefits of globalization, but argued that Indonesia
would need to pursue a form of "modified capitalism." Global
economic forces surely could be harnessed to Indonesia's
benefit, he agreed, but other unintended byproducts of
globalization such as Islamic radicalism and unhealthy
nationalism would also have to be managed.

SBY'S LACK OF LEADERSHIP
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7. (C) The former President lamented the government's lack of
direction and focus, arguing that SBY's failure to reign in a
bloated and inefficient bureaucracy was emblematic of his
inability to chart a course and stick to it. Contrasting
SBY's first two years with Megawati's tenure, Gus Dur argued
that despite all of her failings as President, Megawati at
least knew how to follow through on a policy decision. An
even more significant indictment of SBY's leadership, Gus Dur
argued, was the mostly incompetent cabinet he had assembled.
How could anyone respect the leadership of a President that
had tapped Yusril Mahendra as State Secretary and turned a
blind eye to the rampant corruption in Sugiharto's Ministry

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for State Enterprises?

NU IS DRIFTING
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8. (C) When the Ambassador solicited Gus Dur's views on signs
of increasing conservatism in NU (Ref A),Wahid was
economical with his words. He characterized NU as
"drifting," but commented that "all organizations are
corrupt," and expressed optimism about being able to pursue
his agenda in NU. He dismissed the "big name" conservative
forces within the organization as irrelevant and said that
ultimately the village kias, or traditional clerics,
understood what was best for NU and Islam; they would assert
their moderating influence accordingly.

PKS JUST AS CORRUPT
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9. (C) Wahid was only slightly more expansive on the subject
of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). Gus Dur pointed to
the party's nomination of Adang Daradjutan (Ref C) as its
candidate for Governor of Jakarta as evidence of the fact
that PKS was becoming just as corrupt as any other political
party. He questioned how a party allegedly rooted in the
idea of clean governance and Islamic morality could survive
if it was willing to associate itself with a character as
morally shaky and "un-Islamic" as Adang. The party was
losing its way morally though Gus Dur was quick to add that
Hidayat Nur Wahid, the Chairman of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) and a former President of PKS, was a "good
man."

WAHID STILL ACTIVE IN PKB
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10. (C) Wahid declined to discuss the much publicized split
within PKB (Ref B) or the overall state of his party's
health. He offered instead that he was still extremely
active in PKB party politics and that dialogue within the
party was egalitarian in nature. Wahid explained that in the
course of leadership meetings he always went to great lengths
to entertain and respect dissenting voices. In the event a
colleague disagreed with one of his opinions, he would always
ensure the issue was put to a vote. If his idea was defeated
- which he said was sometimes the case - he always respected
and endorsed the majority decision.

COMMENT
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11. (C) Gus Dur looked healthier than at any time in recent
memory. The former President clearly had little interest in
discussing developments in PKB or NU in substantive fashion,
but he did not hesitate to criticize the President. The
former President was not in a particularly expansive mood,
but he nevertheless seems convinced that the forces of
religious conservatism are losing their momentum.
PASCOE