Vincent Lingga – This week was abuzz with wide speculation that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would rebuke and oust the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) from his coalition government after they initiated a motion to set up a legislative tax inquiry committee.

When the President convened a news conference on Tuesday, many thought this was it, relieved that the usually indecisive and diffident Yudhoyono would finally announce a shakeup in his Cabinet, expelling those ministers from renegade parties for opposing the government's stance.

But, alas, Yudhoyono utterly disappointed both the assembled crowd of reporters who were expecting a big story and the general public who were watching the live TV broadcast of his statement.

The President seized the occasion only by firing a warning shot at the parties that had refused to toe the government line, breaching the code of conduct the party leaders signed when the coalition was set up in October of 2009.

Yudhoyono said he found after thorough evaluation that one or two members of the six-party coalition had violated parts of the code of conduct. But he fell short of naming any names of the "rebel" parties so as not to offend anyone. Nor did he make any concrete decision about those parties.

The President only said he and Vice President Boediono would personally discuss the issue with all the coalition members to determine whether they were still committed to the coalition's agreement.

The President, with the support of the other four members of his coalition and, surprisingly, also the small opposition Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), did defeat by a very thin margin the motion to form the tax inquiry committee.

But what was really humiliating for the President in the latest tussle was that Golkar and the PKS, the largest partners in his coalition, were the main players behind the motion.

Had the motion been approved, the government would have been distracted from its main job as it would have faced a new wave of political turbulence in the next few months that could have adversely affected government policy and its decision-making capabilities and further delayed the enactment of many important bills.

Another special inquiry committee would only have created a new bout of harsh political harassment of the government like what happened during the inquiry into the Bank Century bailout last year.

What is badly needed now is consistent and strong enforcement by the Corruption Eradication Commission, the police and the Attorney General's Office against tax corruptors, evaders and corrupt tax officials.

Early last year, Golkar and the PKS, in cooperation with other opposition parties, also forced a House inquiry into the 2008 Bank Century bailout, but after almost four months of raucous investigations of senior officials, ministers and even Vice President Boediono, the inquiry committee found nothing in the way of criminal acts.

The only result from four months of rowdy sessions at the House was the government's loss of its best economic minister, the internationally respected Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who is now a managing director at the Washington-based World Bank.

Like it or not, the coalition government is a must in Indonesia's multiparty system, even though Yudhoyono won with 62 percent of the vote in the 2009 election. He cannot rule effectively without adequate support in the House of Representatives because his party controls only 26 percent of the seats in the House and he needs House approval for his budget and most of the reform measures required for good governance.

Theoretically, the six parties that make up the coalition have the same platform as to how to bring about justice and prosperity to the people even though this does not rule out differences of opinion.

Certainly, the coalition partners can have different opinions on programs and policy instruments, but the final decision must depend on the President as the leader of the coalition.

Different views can and should be vigorously debated at the coalition secretariat, but once a decision is made by the President, all coalition partners are obliged to implement it.

What has happened over the past two years is that the coalition has worked only in the executive branch (Cabinet), but has constantly faced a turbulent time at the House as Golkar's and the PKS's legislators often take opposing stances to the government's.

No wonder many reform measures and badly needed legislation have been stalled as parties have wasted their time bickering about things that have nothing to do with the public's interest.

This time, we think, the President should act firmly to improve the cohesiveness of his coalition because even though his term will end in October of 2014, he has only two-and-a-half years left to govern because in mid-2013 his coalition partners will start gearing up for the 2014 general and presidential elections.

The situation now is crying out for real leadership to run an effective government. If the President continues his old habit of trying to appease everyone and offend no one at the expense of any real reform, in the end he is doing nothing.

Yudhoyono would be well advised to realize that he cannot avoid offending narrow-minded and vested interests and misguided and corrupt politicians, otherwise he will utterly disappoint the tens of millions of people who have put their faith in him.