SBY beats all odds as nominee of tiny party

SBY beats all odds as nominee of tiny party

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

If anything, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has beaten the odds by
winning the presidential election in comprehensive fashion with a
tiny political party.

As pundits are busy searching for an explanation, it would be
good to go back to the words of his biographer during a gathering
in March, when he said that Susilo himself would not be at all
surprised at the result.

Why?

"Because he knows his competence and he knows what people
really want," Usamah Hisyam stated during the launching of SBY,
The Democrat at the time.

Panelists at the gathering agreed, and added that Susilo was a
"marketable" figure that could present a serious challenge to
other contenders, including the incumbent president Megawati
Soekarnoputri, Wiranto and Amien Rais.

Susilo has relied more on his management team than on his
novice Democrat Party, which he set up to lobby other parties and
mass organizations.

"We were able to get political and financial support from
minority parties, mass organizations and businesspeople to
respond to people's need for a change," Lt. Gen. (ret.) M.
Ma'roef, chief strategist of the Susilo-Kalla pair told The
Jakarta Post last Friday.

Ma'roef acknowledged that despite Susilo's good performance in
the past it was not that easy to "sell" him, especially with the
likes of other veteran civilian presidential hopefuls like
Megawati or Amien Rais.

Susilo realized that he was not a candidate from a major
party, he had no money to fund the campaign and that his military
background was an obstacle. "But, I'm optimistic that the people
will give vote for me because they really want to see change,"
Susilo once said.

He chose former coordinating minister for people's welfare
Yusuf Kalla as his running mate, in part because Kalla had
established a reputation as successful business tycoon.

Susilo's campaign management team attempted to show his
"civilized" and empathetic side during the campaigning and in his
meetings with various groups in society, including informal
leaders and religious leaders to negate the image of a military
man.

This method proved successful as he won the first round of
election despite smear campaigns attacking him with well-
publicized lies and students and rights activists calling for an
end to all military politicians.

Susilo's team published at least two other books: SBY &
Resolusi Konflik (SBY and conflict resolution) and Sembilan
Alasan Memilih SBY (Nine reasons to vote for SBY). SBY, Sang
Demokrat depicts Susilo's childhood, military career and his
thoughts and SBY & Resolusi Konflik tells about SBY's role in
conflict resolutions in Papua, Sampit, Poso, Maluku and Aceh
during his tenure as Cabinet minister under Abdurrahman Wahid and
Megawati Soekarnoputri.

A. Yani Wahid, a co-author of SBY & Resolusi Konflik, said
Susilo's military background and strong leadership had played an
important role in his success, to some extent, in the resolution
of communal and sectarian conflicts in many regions in the past.

He added that the adage, 'the stronger the wind blows the
firmer the tree will stand' prevailed in Susilo's case.

"The higher the position a man is occupying, the more
temptation he will face, but he will certainly be stronger," he
said.

Susilo has weathered various attacks, including one about
being involved in the bloody siege of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) Headquarters involving Megawati's supporters in
Central Jakarta on July 27, 1996. Other unsubstantiated rumors
had him secretly negotiating with the United States during the
1999 East Timor mayhem.

Having studied in and made numerous other visits to the United
States, he has been accused of having a second citizenship in
that country and of favoring diplomatic ties with Israel.

Three days before the voting day, former Army chief R. Hartono
accused him of having married a girl from the Philippines in the
1970s while still a cadet at the Army Academy in Central Java.

Susilo graduated from the Military Academy in 1973 and began
his military career in the Army's Strategic Reserve Command
Airborne Division. He won a special award for good performance
and command in numerous military operations.

Susilo, who was born in Pacitan, East Java, on Sept. 9, 1949,
was the son of Soekotjo, a former military chief of Blitar
district, and Siti Habibah. He was married to Kristiani Herawati,
daughter of former commander of the Army Academy, Sarwo Edhie
Wibowo. They have two sons, Agus Harimurthi Yudhoyono, now an
Army serviceman and Eddhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, who is studying in
Australia.

Apart from several special forces training courses in the
United States, Susilo also had several overseas assignments under
the UN umbrella, from 1995 to 1996, and earned a Master's Degree
from Webster University in the United States. Last week, he
finished his doctorate program at the Bogor Institute of
Agriculture (IPB).