Susilo in control, but tougher challenges ahead

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite a number of decisions that many consider burdensome to the public during his first year in office, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has managed to keep his support intact.

The latest survey conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) confirmed on Wednesday that Susilo remains popular, albeit to a lesser degree than when catapulted to the presidency last year. But stiffer challenges lie ahead, especially given that some of his policies will provide ammunition to opposition groups.

Of 1,000 respondents surveyed after the new fuel prices took effect, 52.4 percent expressed support for Susilo, the first directly elected president in the country's history. Over 61 percent of voters opted for Susilo and his running mate Jusuf Kalla in the presidential election runoff in September last year.

The LSI, which almost precisely predicted Susilo's winning margin in the presidential election, attributed the decline in support to the government's decision to raise fuel prices by an average of 126 percent earlier this month, the second hike Susilo has imposed in the first year of his term.

A series of natural disasters also contributed to his declining popularity, the survey said.

"Without any significant changes, SBY will continue to lose popularity in line with worsening perceptions of the national economy," LSI executive director Denny J.A. said.

Denny said that the next three months would be the most difficult period for Susilo as the full effects of the fuel hikes started to bite.

"The majority of respondents are of the opinion that the economy is in a poor state following the fuel price hikes, and this discontent is quite susceptible to political shifts," he said.

The survey revealed that 51.7 percent of respondents were against the fuel price hikes.

"It is not impossible for opposition groupings to gain strong political support from the grassroots if they exploit the issue in their political campaigns," Denny added.

The LSI recommended that in order to survive the remainder of their terms, Susilo and Kalla should change the way they operate and reshuffle the Cabinet to boost the government's capabilities.

"The President should make more public appearances, while the Vice President stays in the background, as U.S. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney did in 2000," Denny said.

"Both Susilo and Kalla have their own styles in running the government. Susilo behaves like an intellectual but is quite slow in making decisions, while Kalla is a deal-maker and innovator, and is courageous and quick in making decisions. The different leadership styles, the duo's less than harmonious relationship, the issue of incompetent ministers and certain ministers' conflicting interests have contributed to the government's bad image."

Denny, however, declined to suggest which ministers should be replaced and who would be suitable to replace them.

As if to respond to the critics, Susilo said he would focus on the rolling out of nine years' free education, improvement in health services, and the creation of more jobs in the second year of his term.

"We must pay attention to 2006 after getting through a difficult year in 2005," Susilo said at the State Palace.

Susilo promised to fulfill the constitutional imperative requiring the government to allocate 20 percent of the state budget to education.