Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono remains popular for his performance in national security and legal affairs, but is facing a challenge to improve Indonesia's economy, a recent survey reveals.

The survey was conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) from Dec. 5-15, and was released on Friday in Jakarta. The results saw SBY gain 42.9 percent of respondents' support, higher than other presidential candidates including Megawati Soekarno Putri, who gained 40.7 percent.

"75 and 68 percent of respondents say they are satisfied with SBY's performance in security and legal affairs, respectively," the institute's executive director, Denny JA, told kompas.com on Friday.

Denny said 59 percent of respondents had said they were dissatisfied with SBY's handling of the economy. "35.2 percent of respondents say the current economic condition is worsening, while 29 percent say the opposite," he added.

In terms of issues, Denny added, 72.7 percent of respondents were of the opinion that social welfare was most important. "Corruption only attracted 12.5 percent of respondents' votes, while only 4.1 percent said security was most important," he said. (ewd)