For many, the sultan's actions carried with them the ultimate message to Suharto--one from a true king to a general who merely acted like one. In Javanese culture, the sultan says, a leader falters when his personal ambition overrides his duty to the people. "What happened on that day was that we understood each other," he says. "I understood what Suharto did, and he understood what I did." It wouldn't be the first time Indonesians looked to a sultan for leadership. In 1945 Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX became a revolutionary hero (he would later serve as minister of defense and vice president) when he declared Yogyakarta a special province of the new Republic of Indonesia, while others were still hesitating or supporting the Dutch. "The people didn't understand what a republic was," recalls Selo Sumarjan, an adviser to both the current sultan and his father. "After his declaration, we all thought this republic must be all right."
In the confusion accompanying the rough transition to democracy, the sultan is viewed as a rare source of courage. Last August, more than 100,000 people went into the streets of Yogyakarta to demand that the sultan become governor; faced with such an outpouring, a rival candidate proposed by the army withdrew. Can the sultan now ascend to the national stage? Many argue that he is either too nice, too honest or too unknown outside Java to be president. But two weeks ago Abdurraham Wahid, whose National Awakening Party wields the power of 40 million voters, told TIME he was considering supporting the Sultan--or else Megawati--for president. "They are on the same level for me," Wahid said, "but because many of our party members prefer to have a male candidate, I think he will win over Mega."
The sultan is undecided on whether he would accept what he calls "the job," in part, he says, because he once promised his late father that he wouldn't put personal ambition ahead of the people's welfare. Says the sultan: "For me, it is difficult in terms of ethics." Now that's a word Indonesians don't hear in politics very often.
With reporting by Zamira Loebis/Jakarta
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February 22, 1999
Indonesia: A Great Experiment
The country prepares to embark on its first free election campaign -- and its grandest test of democracy -- in years
Viewpoint:
The coming months are a minefield
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