Dean Yates, Jakarta – After clinging to the shadows for much of her 18-month presidency, Megawati Sukarnoputri flies to bomb-hit Bali on Monday to mark the New Year, hot on the heels of visits to Indonesia's two separatist hotspots.
Aides argue the president is quietly getting a grip on some of the tensions bedevilling the world's most populous Muslim nation, notching up successes with the arrest of many Bali bomb suspects and agreeing a landmark peace pact with rebels in Aceh.
But several Indonesia experts and Muslim leaders said that, to the contrary, Megawati's visits to Aceh and Papua provinces were little more than public relations exercises that failed to address key issues such as accounting for past military abuses.
They said since the October 12 Bali blasts the taciturn Megawati had also failed to reach out to moderate Muslims to help seize back the public stage from radicals who have fuelled the perception abroad that Islamic extremism is taking hold here.
Jakarta has arrested more than 20 people over the Bali attacks, which killed nearly 200 people, mainly foreigners. Many have ties to Jemaah Islamiah, a regional network of militant Muslims.
Hasyim Muzadi, head of the 40 million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's biggest moderate Muslim group, said despite the battering Indonesian Islam had taken since Bali, Megawati had not approached him or other moderates who wanted her help to to improve the religion's image in Indonesia.
This included Syafii Maarif, leader of the 30 million-member Muhammadiyah organisation, the other big mainstream body.
"Syafii Maarif almost wept asking for time to discuss this with the president, but it went unheeded ... Talk to us, the moderates. Include us," Muzadi said in a plea to Megawati, adding he believed she was incapable of tackling Islamic extremism. Her trips to Aceh and Papua were "ceremonial", he said.
Seizing the debate
While a palace official confirmed Megawati had not met Muzadi or Maarif since the Bali blasts, Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa denied Jakarta was failing to consult all segments of society in dealing with restive regions and extremism.
"I think the government has addressed the issues head on and not allowed itself to engage in never-ending debates," he said.
Megawati does deserve credit for allowing foreign police into the country after the Bali attacks to help their Indonesian counterparts, who have surprised all by arresting many suspects.
Police have also arrested Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual head of Jemaah Islamiah, although he has not been tied to Bali but attacks in 2000. Bashir denies any wrongdoing. To Megawati's supporters, such acts speak louder than words.
But Greg Fealy, an expert on Indonesian Islam at the Australian National University in Canberra, said Megawati needed to give leadership to the debate on tackling Islamic extremism.
He said a key step in the war on terror in Indonesia was to change attitudes so ordinary Indonesian Muslims publicly rejected the radical rhetoric that so often grabs the headlines.
"Until Bali, the overwhelming impression in the Western world was that Indonesia was one of the most moderate and pluralistic Islamic countries in the world. Now, a lot of people probably associate it with radicalism," Fealy said.
Many political analysts believe Megawati is trying to protect herself from a Muslim backlash by not taking a strong stand. She is vulnerable because of her secular-nationalist roots.
More than a symbol?
In Bali, Megawati will try to add cheer to New Year events taking place not far from the devastated nightclub district on Kuta Beach. She will spend most of the three-day stay with family.
Her trip to Aceh two weeks ago lasted less than 24 hours. Visiting the mainly Christian province of Papua for Christmas celebrations last week, Megawati cast off her trademark shyness to sing a Frank Sinatra ballad, "My Way".
Agnita Singedekane Irsal, a close aide from Megawati's Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), said the president's trips to Aceh and Papua were more than just symbolism.
Irsal said Megawati's efforts to tackle religious extremism had borne fruit with a peaceful Christmas.
"Now, we only need to look at the developments, our security is much better. But if there is one characteristic of her, it's not to promote herself," Irsal said.
Critics said while Megawati deserved credit for allowing the Aceh peace accord to go ahead in the face of reservations from hawks in the military, they said her role had not been major. "If you take the Aceh agreement...it is a breakthrough, but it's not a breakthrough by her," said Harold Crouch, a leading authority on Indonesia at the Australian National University.
He said part of the credit should go to her chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Megawati's backers said there was nothing wrong with delegating if the end result was good.