A Tide Reaches Indonesia

Indonesia’s President Abdurrahman Wahid is feeling the impact of a new trend in Asia--growing public intolerance of government corruption. Unlike his counterpart in the Philippines, Joseph Estrada, who was forced out of office over allegations of graft, Wahid has so far suffered only a parliamentary censure. However, he faces mounting calls for his resignation. His case should serve as a warning that Asian politics are changing.

Wahid, Indonesia’s first democratically elected president, took office 15 months ago facing the nearly impossible task of reversing economic decline, bringing democracy to one of the world’s most corrupt countries and quelling separatist violence in outlying areas.

He has been successful in curtailing the power of the military and bringing an unprecedented degree of openness to the Indonesian government. But he has failed on most other counts, frittering away the support of allies. Despite Wahid’s promises that he would clean up the system left by ousted President Suharto, his government managed to convict only one person, Suharto’s son Tommy, and even he eluded punishment. Wahid, by hiring and firing a succession of ministers, has lost public confidence in his ability to manage the country’s tattered economy. Now secessionist violence is on the rise.

But what brought protesters into the streets of Jakarta in recent days was a parliamentary report implicating Wahid in the embezzlement of $3.7 million from the funds of a state food distribution agency and in receiving $2 million in donations from the sultan of Brunei, the oil-rich mogul of a nearby island state. Wahid denied any wrongdoing, and indeed the probe did not find that the president enriched himself in the process. But the parliament Thursday censured Wahid and may later demand his impeachment.

Wahid has good reason to worry about his political future. People across Asia are fed up with corrupt officials. Last month’s overthrow of Estrada in the Philippines is a clear sign of change. Even in China and Vietnam, which have Asia’s most autocratic regimes, peasants are rioting. In fledgling democracies such as Indonesia, public anger is a gathering heat.