M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Against a background of perhaps excessively high public expectations of sweeping change, the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been criticized by some analysts for failing to bring about significant progress in its first three months.
Political analyst Syamsuddin Haris of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that thus far the Susilo administration had instituted only minuscule changes and had failed to give any indication that it would do better in the future.
Syamsuddin said that in the fight against corruption, which Susilo said he would personally lead and which would be the cornerstone of his administration, his performance could be considered poor as there had been nothing to date to indicate that high profile corruptors would be brought to justice soon.
"Abdullah Puteh has been finally brought before the court, but the process has been proceeding at a snail's pace. This was the style of the previous administration," Syamsuddin said, referring to the trial of the suspended Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam governor, who has been implicated in a corruption case involving a procurement project.
To make matters worst for Susilo, according to Syamsuddin, his tacit rivalry with Vice President Jusuf Kalla was slowing down the decision-making process in his administration and, in turn, obstructing immediate progress.
"Both Susilo and Kalla spend much of their energies in concealing the fact that they are rivals, especially after Kalla was elected Golkar Party leader last December," Syamsuddin said.
He predicted that the discord would likely persist and could become the defining feature of the Susilo administration.
The Susilo-Kalla government will be three months old on Friday. The country's first ever directly-elected President pledged that he would make significant progress during what he termed the "100-day breakthrough" period, with the anticorruption drive topping his agenda.
Given the lackluster performance of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri in the political and economic fields, expectations were high that Susilo would bring about sweeping changes due to the strong mandate he was given by the electorate.
Economist Didik J. Rachbini concurred with Syamsuddin, saying that there had been no coordinated efforts by the members of Susilo's Cabinet to tackle the myriad of problems afflicting the country's economy.
"The members of Susilo's economic team in the Cabinet seemed to be at a loss over what they would do in the first three months. They have no blueprint whatsoever. The ministers just go with the flow," Didik told a discussion organized by an alliance of youth organizations here.
He added that the Susilo administration had also not yet succeeded in reviving the country's fragile economy.
"During the campaign, Susilo emphasized that his administration would tackle rampant corruption, reform the bureaucracy, improve the public service and stimulate the country's economy. However, after three months there has been no substantial progress," he claimed.
Despite the administration's poor record, it deserved credit for supporting press freedom, said Bambang Harymurti, chief editor of Tempo weekly.
"Susilo's inclination to avail of the right to reply and his repeated statements about resorting to the Press Council in the case of disputes with the media must be applauded, especially considering that the previous administration tended to use the criminal law against journalists," Bambang said.