Susilo fails to register significant progress<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Against a background of perhaps excessively high public
\nexpectations of sweeping change, the administration of President
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been criticized by some analysts for
\nfailing to bring about significant progress in its first three
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
Political analyst Syamsuddin Haris of the Indonesian Institute
\nof Sciences (LIPI) said that thus far the Susilo administration
\nhad instituted only minuscule changes and had failed to give any
\nindication that it would do better in the future.<\/p>\n
Syamsuddin said that in the fight against corruption, which
\nSusilo said he would personally lead and which would be the
\ncornerstone of his administration, his performance could be
\nconsidered poor as there had been nothing to date to indicate
\nthat high profile corruptors would be brought to justice soon.<\/p>\n
"Abdullah Puteh has been finally brought before the court, but
\nthe process has been proceeding at a snail's pace. This was the
\nstyle of the previous administration," Syamsuddin said, referring
\nto the trial of the suspended Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam governor,
\nwho has been implicated in a corruption case involving a
\nprocurement project.<\/p>\n
To make matters worst for Susilo, according to Syamsuddin, his
\ntacit rivalry with Vice President Jusuf Kalla was slowing down
\nthe decision-making process in his administration and, in turn,
\nobstructing immediate progress.<\/p>\n
"Both Susilo and Kalla spend much of their energies in
\nconcealing the fact that they are rivals, especially after Kalla
\nwas elected Golkar Party leader last December," Syamsuddin said.<\/p>\n
He predicted that the discord would likely persist and could
\nbecome the defining feature of the Susilo administration.<\/p>\n
The Susilo-Kalla government will be three months old on
\nFriday. The country's first ever directly-elected President
\npledged that he would make significant progress during what he
\ntermed the "100-day breakthrough" period, with the anticorruption
\ndrive topping his agenda.<\/p>\n
Given the lackluster performance of former president Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri in the political and economic fields, expectations
\nwere high that Susilo would bring about sweeping changes due to
\nthe strong mandate he was given by the electorate.<\/p>\n
Economist Didik J. Rachbini concurred with Syamsuddin, saying
\nthat there had been no coordinated efforts by the members of
\nSusilo's Cabinet to tackle the myriad of problems afflicting the
\ncountry's economy.<\/p>\n
"The members of Susilo's economic team in the Cabinet seemed
\nto be at a loss over what they would do in the first three
\nmonths. They have no blueprint whatsoever. The ministers just go
\nwith the flow," Didik told a discussion organized by an alliance
\nof youth organizations here.<\/p>\n
He added that the Susilo administration had also not yet
\nsucceeded in reviving the country's fragile economy.<\/p>\n
"During the campaign, Susilo emphasized that his
\nadministration would tackle rampant corruption, reform the
\nbureaucracy, improve the public service and stimulate the
\ncountry's economy. However, after three months there has been no
\nsubstantial progress," he claimed.<\/p>\n
Despite the administration's poor record, it deserved credit
\nfor supporting press freedom, said Bambang Harymurti, chief
\neditor of Tempo weekly.<\/p>\n
"Susilo's inclination to avail of the right to reply and his
\nrepeated statements about resorting to the Press Council in the
\ncase of disputes with the media must be applauded, especially
\nconsidering that the previous administration tended to use the
\ncriminal law against journalists," Bambang said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susilo-fails-to-register-significant-progress-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}