Kalla outshines Susilo in popularity: Survey

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may be leading the nationwide fight against corruption but a survey reveals that more people now perceive his deputy, Jusuf Kalla, plays an equal or more important role in running the country.

Conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI), the poll found that 47.3 percent of people viewed that Kalla played an "equal or more pivotal role" in government than Susilo.

Only 40.9 percent believed that Susilo had the most active job in government.

While Susilo is still judged positively by those surveyed, the results are in contrast to an identical question asked the previous year, which gave Susilo a clear lead over Kalla in the performance stakes, with 49.8 percent of those surveyed putting him above Kalla, who scored only 40.9 percent for the "equal or more pivotal" question.

The surveyors believe Kalla's increased performance rating likely came from his prominent role in the peaceful settlement of the Aceh conflict, perceptions of his proactive approach to the country's economic policies, his support base in the House of Representatives through the Golkar Party he heads and his leadership style.

During the survey conducted between Oct. 3 and Oct. 7, the LSI interviewed a thousand respondents across the country's 33 provinces using a multistage random sampling method. The margin of error was put at around 3.2 percent.

LSI had announced only part of the results of the survey on Oct. 20, which showed Susilo's popularity had rating reached a record low since he assumed power last year, although it was still above 50 percent.

Perceptions of Kalla's role also increased in economic affairs, with the Vice President's role -- of being in equal or more in command of the country's economy rated at 56.2 percent, compared to his boss' 33.8 percent.

The President, a retired Army general, has since the onset entrusted economic issues to his deputy, who is formerly a businessman.

Both had served in the previous administrations of Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Most respondents said Susilo should play a bigger role in government because Susilo was the most popular choice during the presidential and vice presidential elections last year.

LSI executive director Denny J.A. said on Wednesday he was surprised by the results of the poll.

He suggested that Susilo set a clearer division of labor between him and his deputy and let Kalla stay in the background for some issues.

The survey also discovered that 60 percent of respondents want a Cabinet reshuffle due to perceptions of a worsening economy and the presence of ministers who are deemed liabilities to Susilo's administration.

Denny said the reshuffle should take place before 2006, with attention paid to the economic team.

"Because the public consider the economy the most important sector, the ministerial posts should be given to those who are capable and free from conflict of interests," he said.