November 25, 2009

JAKARTA: A landmark address to the nation on Indonesia’s festering state of corruption by the President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has outraged anti-graft activists and left even his strongest supporters confused and disappointed.

Months of unravelling corruption scandals and mounting public anger preceded the 35-minute nationally televised speech late on Monday night, when Dr Yudhoyono reverted to the oblique and contradictory language for which he is infamous.

While he suggested it would be a good idea that the prosecution of two senior members of the independent Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) – widely seen as a grand conspiracy by corrupt police – be settled out of court, he did not demand that the case be dropped.

Moreover, he failed to pick up recommendations from a panel of experts he asked to examine the corruption problem. They wanted him to punish bribe-taking police and prosecutors identified in wiretaps plotting to set up the KPK deputies Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto.

One of the eight-member panel, Komaruddin Hidayat, summed up the reaction of many after the speech.

”It was like a soccer player with a ball ready to be kicked for a goal. But he [keeps] dribbling the ball instead of shooting,” he said.

Widespread calls for a cull of the leadership of the national police and Attorney-General’s department also went unheeded. Instead, Dr Yudhoyono called for greater ”harmony” between the two bodies and the KPK.

The prominent political analyst Wimar Witoelar, a strong supporter of Dr Yudhoyono’s re-election campaign, said Indonesians were ”desperate” for the President to show leadership on corruption after months of inaction from the presidential palace.

”It was worse than not doing anything. He raised our hopes [ahead of the speech] and then he dashed them,” he said. ”At this stage, of course, we don’t know the reason for that.”

The speech was followed by a series of protests across Jakarta, including one were activists threw towels to the ground in disgust, indicating they believed Dr Yudhoyono had given up the fight on corruption.

source:smh