The President's priorities

With respect to new capital investments from the U.S., Japan and Vietnam, no dramatic improvement was to be expected. Neither was there any urgency for improving economic ties in the sort term to justify President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's trip if it was merely to meet with President George W. Bush and not an invitation to address the U.S. Congress, for instance.

In matters of foreign policy, it seems that by now every government in the world is more than fully aware of Indonesia's active role in bridging differences between East and West, during the cold war, or cooperating in South to South issues by expressing Indonesia's solidarity toward the aspirations of the developing so-called Third World.

Since the Africa-Asia Conference in Bandung in 1955 and the formation of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) later, the principles of Indonesia's foreign policy have been laid down and popularized by the previous administrations and former presidents.

Many, therefore, believe that Susilo's priorities should have been at the home front to combat invisible terrorists. This was where he needed to leave his mark and demonstrate his leadership.

Why is it so difficult to see that the absence of Susilo in the fight against corruption at the upper level and against the abuse of power will automatically lead to the stagnation of these endeavors. It is no exaggeration to state that the hunt for and arrest of suspected terrorists must be led by the President himself for they are the real enemies of the national and social defense.

GANDHI SUKARDI Jakarta