'The current Cabinet has vested interests'<\/p>\n
The latest polls indicate that while President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, or SBY and JK, remain
\npopular with voters, they have lost some of their shine since
\nbeing catapulted into office last year. The Jakarta Post asked
\nJakartans for their thoughts on SBY and JK.<\/p>\n
Amanda Andono Sudarwanto, is a print promotion executive at
\nPT EMI Music Indonesia in Kuningan, South Jakarta. She lives in
\nPondok Pinang, South Jakarta:<\/p>\n
It is not easy to look at the work someone has done and
\ndetermine what they have achieved. It is difficult to discern
\nwhat someone has achieved after just one year in office.<\/p>\n
From the outside, it does not seem that SBY has achieved
\nanything major, but a president's term lasts for five years. He
\nstill has four years to go. Give him time to prove himself.<\/p>\n
I think the cooperation between the President, Vice President
\nand the Cabinet needs to improve. There needs to be more follow-
\nup on earlier programs and policies.<\/p>\n
Syahrizal Budi Putranto, 40, is a media expert at Inke Maris &
\nAssociates strategic communications consultant in South Jakarta.
\nHe lives in Depok:<\/p>\n
The election of SBY and JK as President and Vice President
\nraised a lot of hopes in the beginning. Especially with SBY's
\nstated resolve to fight corruption, improve legal certainty and
\nfix the economy. And it is true that the government has been
\nmore open and receptive, and has even proven its commitment to
\nbring those involved in corruption to court.<\/p>\n
However, after one year in office the results achieved by SBY
\nand JK have been less than satisfying. The fight against
\ncorruption has only managed to touch the small-time criminals,
\nwhile those involved in illegal logging and oil smuggling causing
\nthe state trillions of rupiah in losses remain at large. Neither
\nhas the government touched any of the ill-gotten wealth
\naccumulated by those involved in corruption.<\/p>\n
In politics, although there were some problems in the regional
\nelections, the process of democracy has begun to work.<\/p>\n
I think the Cabinet of SBY-JK remains riddled with vested
\ninterests, which has effected its performance. But a reshuffle
\nmay not be the best solution. What is needed is to push for
\neconomic reforms that do not take into account the interests of
\nministers. Maybe fuel prices had to go up because of rising
\nglobal oil prices, but was it wise to raise them as much as 126
\npercent? I do not think so.<\/p>\n
-- The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-current-cabinet-has-vested-interests-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }