When the Indonesian President can do no right

When the Indonesian President can do no right

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, New York

At a gala dinner hosted on Thursday Sept. 15 by the American-
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce at New York's Pierre Hotel,
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seemed to be in his element.

During his six-day visit to the United States the retired
four-star general has enjoyed generous praise and back-patting
from his hosts, which he is perhaps not accustomed to at home.

Now it is time to go home, he said, in his remarks to about
100 American guests.

"It's good to be here in New York. I arrived here on Monday,
and I have been driven around in a fancy car, with a convoy of
secret service agents. I like it, because everywhere I go, people
on the streets think I am a big rock star. Until they see me
stepping out of the car. That's when I tell them that I once sang
for the hit show Indonesian Idol," he said to laughter.

He was clearly proud to be seated next to U.S. President
George W. Bush and of the warm conversation they had during a
working luncheon hosted by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for
the leaders who attended Wednesday's opening of the World Summit.

His American hosts credited him with being the "directly
elected" leader of the third-largest democracy -- after India and
the U.S. -- the world's fourth most populous nation and the most
populous Muslim nation. They applauded him for his intellect as
the holder of a doctorate degree in agricultural economics from a
prestigious university. He was referred to as the "thinking
general".

During his stay here, he received regular reports on
developments at home. The President was irritated by
criticism over the cost effectiveness of leading daily Cabinet
meetings in Jakarta via video conference. Some had said the video
conference facility was too expensive and others had concluded
that he did not trust Vice President Jusuf Kalla to carry out his
presidential duties.

The President reacted to the criticism and canceled on
Thursday evening his daily contact with Jakarta. There are rumors
among his entourage that the President suddenly dropped Kompas
daily from the list of media he invited to cover his U.S. tour
because of the paper's critical reports about his indecisiveness
over the fuel subsidy and reshuffling the Cabinet. If this is
true, the President has only caused himself unnecessary problems.

Close aides traveling with him disclosed that he wanted to
ensure the social-safety net programs for the poor had been put
in place before fuel prices were raised. He is aware of the risks
if the programs fail, as other schemes have done in the past. His
inner-circle aides, including Cabinet Secretary Maj. Gen. (ret)
Sudi Silalahi, are of the opinion that the scheme to help the
poor will only work if the Indonesian Military (TNI) oversees
fund distribution -- they are adamant that TNI officers would be
honest in this task.

The President is now evaluating his Cabinet, and he may
announce his new team together with the announcement of the new
fuel prices. Now he is considering the inclusion of more
technocrats in his Cabinet, particularly in economic affairs,
as did his predecessor Megawati Soekarnoputri. Megawati's former
finance minister Boediono and former economics minister
Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti are among the candidates Susilo is
considering.

Reshuffling the Cabinet is not enough. The President needs to
be more confident in himself, as several polls show that the
people are relatively satisfied with his hard work.

There are people who are now struggling to work their way into
the Cabinet or to place their men in the government and speak as
though they were the real representatives of the people.

One impression of the President is that he often overreacts to
criticism. He is very aware of the role of public relations, but
it seems that he often pays too much attention to it, making his
public appearances less natural. The events after Hurricane
Katrina in New Orleans showed that Susilo did a better job in the
aftermath of the Dec. 26 tsunami than President George Bush in
the face of disaster.

In the public's eyes at least, Susilo's immediate family and
relatives appear to be well-intentioned and free from corruption,
collusion and nepotism (KKN). He is an only child, and his two
sons seem to have no interests in business. His wife's family is
a highly respected one, especially her father, the late and
legendary Lt. Gen. (ret) Sarwo Edhie.

The vice president's family, on the other hand, has a history
in business.

Compared to his predecessors, the number of businesspeople who
tried to lobby or approach him during his foreign trips was much
lower. He feels much more comfortable with intellectuals than
businesspeople.

The President has one thing going for him that none of his
predecessors had: he was given a mandate from the people. From
reading media reports, however, it could be concluded that the
President can do no right.

No one wants Soeharto back in power, but the former leader had
one thing right: he refused to bow to others in making major
decisions. When it comes to decision-making, Susilo needs to
worry less about his image and more about the outcome.