Cheerful Susilo gets victory munchies
Cheerful Susilo gets victory munchies
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While well-heeled regents and governors here might think twice about eating lunch at a humble food stall on a dusty road, it was not so with an upbeat President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who decided a Padang feed was the perfect antidote to a growling stomach in Banten on Saturday.
The President and his entourage made the stop at the roadside Famili Sakato stall on the way from Tangerang to Serang after touring a former drug factory the police raided on Friday, the third largest of its type ever found in the world.
Susilo's hunger proved that despite the large amounts of ecstasy and crystal methamphetamine chemicals found scattered around the factory, he had not inhaled. Neither had he succumbed to a contact high -- ecstasy and speed being well known appetite- suppressants.
He quickly devoured nearly all the spicy chicken pieces on the table with his bare hands as local onlookers stared with benign amusement.
The road to a man's heart, as the adage goes, is through his stomach. And for Susilo, who has been under pressure recently with the country's continuing economic woes and security problems, it might have been the happiest day ever during his 13 months in power.
And the President has good reason to pleased.
Many of his recent worries have been assuaged by two pieces of good news within just a week: the slaying of alleged organizer of the country's deadliest terrorist network, Malaysian national Azahari bin Husin, and the successful police drug raid.
Susilo visited the factory, located in Tegal village, Serang, to tour the facilities and get first-hand information about the police operation.
Along the way to the factory, Susilo wound down the bulletproof windows of his car to wave to the watching crowds -- a rare move that visibly spooked several presidential guards and local police.
Inside the factory complex, Susilo congratulated officials from the National Police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Australian, Hong Kong and Taiwanese police forces for their success.
On Friday, police arrested 13 people in connection with the raid, including foreign nationals from France, the Netherlands and China. Officers have also detained an Indonesian, Benny Sudrajat, who is believed to be running the operation here. The factory had an installed capacity to produce one million ecstasy tablets a week worth some Rp 100 billion (US$9.8 million), with most of the pills exported to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia.
"The success should not stop here. Officials at all levels of the administration should intensify efforts to foil the three most important crimes; terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption. This week's successes are just a start," Susilo said.
Earlier in the morning, Susilo had talked of the operations to an international delegation of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD).
Nearly half of his speech to the group was devoted to the chronology of the police raids and how they could affect the country's future development.
"Just two days ago, our police successfully killed the most dangerous terrorists in the region, Dr. Azahari and his associates ... It is definitely our biggest counterterrorism achievement this year, and I do hope all of you can sleep better tonight," Susilo said, smiling.
"And just last night, I received a report from the police chief about the raid on the country's largest ecstasy factory and the foiling of the drug trafficking network."
With these successes, in addition to his full stomach, Susilo is likely to sleep well tonight.