Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has acknowledged that the Indonesian people are "not satisfied" with the country's law enforcement system but says he cannot do anything about it.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday in which he addressed the evolving Gayus Tambunan debacle, Yudhoyono conceded that the world's spotlight was on Indonesia's law enforcement but said he could not intervene in individual cases, despite the increasing number of public complaints.

"Though I could not and would not intervene in the legal process... as a head of state I should care about the concerns of our people."

The president said nothing about steps he would undertake to improve the justice system as a whole, which he has previously stated was one of the government's leading priorities.

"I received text messages from our people who are not satisfied with the aspect of law enforcement in our country, including corruption eradication," Yudhoyono said.

He said the messages began when he was attending the G-20 Summit in South Korea and the APEC summit Japan and had not stopped "regarding the protests and unrest of our people of the cases that breach our efforts to correctly uphold the law."

Flanked by National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo and acting Attorney General Darmono, Yudhoyono ordered the pair to report to him directly about detained corruption suspect Gayus's trip to Bali to watch an international tennis tournament where he was photographed by the Jakarta Globe, and other aspects of the case.

Before the cabinet meeting, Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, advised the media not to focus on Gayus's trip to the detriment of Gayus's ongoing corruption case. "It is a problem that should be seriously investigated by the police, but we should not forget the old case, the tax case."

Gayus, who amassed more than $11 million in personal assets when he worked at the Directorate General of Taxation, has claimed that most of the money came in the form of bribes from companies such as KPC, a unit of Bumi Resources, the flagship of the Bakrie Group owned by the family of Aburizal Bakrie, the powerful chairman of Golkar.

Three Bakrie companies, including Bumi and KPC, have been accused of evading a total of Rp 2.1 trillion ($227 million) in taxes during the 2007 tax year. Bakrie was also photographed at the same tournament as Gayus, although on a different day.

A blubbering Gayus on Monday finally admitted that the person photographed at the tournament was indeed him, telling the South Jakarta District Court that his leave would "trigger such a major controversy." He said his detention had caused him stress and he needed a "little vacation."

Speaking after the cabinet meeting, Djoko said Yudhoyono had asked for a comprehensive and speedy investigation, including the "motive behind Gayus's trip to Bali". "Every allegation developed among the public should be proven by the head of the National Police though an investigation."

Asked what allegation he was referring to, Djoko said the allegations in the mass media that Gayus "met someone" in Bali.

Asked directly if the Bakrie group would form part of that investigation, Djoko said he did not name any names. "The police have been ordered to investigate how [Gayus came to Bali] and the background. We should not judge someone from the beginning. Let the investigation process run well."

Timur promised that the entire investigation – including the trip and other aspects of the case – would be handed over to the Attorney General's Office within ten days.

The police chief, however, dodged a question regarding other high-profile inmates the National Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) detention facility in Depok who allegedly may have been allowed to leave their cells. The names of former chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji and mid-ranking officer Sr. Comr. Wiliardi Wizar have previously been mentioned.