Looking for a Real Leader; When it comes to talent at the top, Indonesians have to wait.

Byline: Joe Cochrane, With Peter Jannsen

When she was appointed regent of the central Java district of Kebuman four years ago, Rustriningsih did a very unusual thing for an Indonesian official: she refused to take bribes. Instead, the 36-year-old, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, began building one of the country's cleanest and most transparent provincial governments. Today she is the most popular figure in her district of 1.2 million and the perfect candidate for national Parliament elections next month. The only problem is she's not running. "I would have limited powers to change things at the national level," says Rustriningsih, "but at the [provincial] level I am leading the fight against corruption."

The ouster of authoritarian president Suharto in 1998 filled many Indonesians with hope. A year later the country celebrated its first free election in four decades. But five years on, hope seems to have been replaced with resignation. Although the country has largely recovered from the 1997 financial crisis, Suharto's Golkar Party remains a key player in Parliament and the cabinet, the judiciary and civil service are still rife with corruption and the armed forces have regained their political influence in the capital, as well as economic clout in the provinces. Heading into the April 5 polls, and the nation's first direct presidential election in July, Indonesian voters remain stuck choosing among an entrenched group of national political figures largely associated with corruption, incompetence or human-rights abuses.

Consider the current crop of candidates: a former housewife with questionable leadership skills (President Megawati Sukarnoputri), a Muslim politician who once counted the country's top terrorist suspect as his friend (Vice President Hamzah Haz), a retired Army general indicted for war crimes by United Nations prosecutors in East Timor (former armed forces chief Wiranto), a former president removed for alleged corruption and incompetence (Abdurrahman Wahid) and a Parliament speaker who has been dogged by allegations of embezzlement (Akbar Tanjung). Some have already written off the upcoming polls in hope that new leadership will emerge for the next set of elections in 2009. "The field is not so inspiring," says Wimar Witoelar, a prominent political commentator. "It's more of the same people."

The most enduring legacy of Suharto's 32-year rule may be this leadership vacuum. The strongman regularly had ...