Dion Bisara & Anita Rachman – Lawmakers have accused the Indonesian president of being blind to today's reality especially in relation to issues of corruption and poverty.

Deputy House Speaker Pramono Anung said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's state of the nation speech on Tuesday was in stark contrast to the reality faced by the Indonesian public.

"There are differences between what was stated [by the president] and what is felt by the public," said Pramono, who is also a member of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Pramono said the president focused only on what the nation had achieved in the last year, but the situation in Indonesia at present is not pretty and the president needed to address it.

In particular, he pointed out the current scandal surrounding the president's own party and its former treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin. Pramono said though the president mentioned corruption, "he did not tell us about the ways to eradicate it."

Currently Indonesia is ranked 110th on the Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

But in his speech Yudhoyono told members of the House of Representatives and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), that Indonesia's CPI had in fact improved from 2.0 (out of 10) in 2004 to 2.8 in 2010.

The president said the 0.8 rise in rank was the highest growth among ASEAN nations. However, Yudhoyono admitted the nation still had to work hard to improve its corruption index in the future.

He mentioned to do this it was important to support the country's various anti-corruption agencies and help them work together effectively.

Pramono was skeptical of the president's statement. "He said he wanted to strengthen the [Corruption Eradication Commission] KPK, but in reality we have been seeing efforts to weaken the commission," he said.

The National Mandate Party's (PAN) Viva Yoga also criticized the president for his apparent inability to talk about the country's weaknesses. "He tried to focus on the development achieved by the government, but in fact there are still many weaknesses," Viva said. "But he did not talk about these weaknesses and how they can be fixed."

Instead, in his annual state address, the president promised better economic growth in the coming year with cheaper housing and public transportation.

"From 2012 [the government] will implement in various stages a number of programs such as low-cost housing and very cheap public transport," Yudhoyono said without elaborating on how this was to be done.

He claimed the programs would complement the country's current "social safety nets." The president added the development of the nation would be beneficial for all. "We want to be sure, the fruits of development can be enjoyed by all people," he said.

Indonesia's GINI index, its measure of equality, increased from 39 in 2005 to 37 in 2009. This indicates Indonesia is a more equitable society in comparison with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, China, Brazil, Turkey and even the United States.

However according to Merrill Lynch one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies, the wealth of the 43,000 richest Indonesians (0.02 percent of the population) was equivalent to 25 percent of the GDP.

Jeffrey Winters, professor of politics at the Northwestern University in Chicago said this meant Indonesia's wealth was still three times more concentrated than in Thailand, four times more than in Malaysia and 25 times that of Singapore.

Yudhoyono also said the country was in a better place to stave off the possible economic downturn due to the United States and European debt crisis. "All policy instruments to deal with the crisis are in place, and ready for use," he said. "We are confident we will be able to overcome the uncertain situation."

Yudhoyono said that the "largest economy in the Southeast Asia" had learned its lesson in overcoming the global economic crisis of 2008-2009. "With hard work and cooperation among us it will bring about our country's salvation," he said.

The president assured all Indonesians from low income families, that with the nation's improved economic condition the government would be able to provide them all with better access to health and education.

"In the past, people with low incomes often faced difficulties in getting access to basic services. Alhamdulillah [thank god], the condition has changed.

"At the moment, I can assure all citizens with low incomes that they will receive education and health care services from the government," he said. "No school age child would be left out of the classrooms and no one would be barred from the health care system.

And so, the president urged all government institutions at all levels, national, provincial, and district, to make sure that programs would be implemented well.

The United Development Party (PPP) secretary general M. Romahurmuziy said the speech was a "typical presidential speech". "It wasn't concrete and he [glossed over] the recent controversies," he said.

Romahurmuziy said the president appeared to be gearing up the nation to fight for justice. "In the state speech, he wants to give the nation some spirit."