Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Gobble ... gobble ... gobble ... is the onomatopoeic phrase often used in cartoon stories whenever characters eat their food in a hurry. It is also the sound a turkey makes.
The word, for some reason, often came to mind when watching President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or his Cabinet trying to explain their failures to deliver on election promises they had made.
State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani initially said the Cabinet would complete 66 programs in the 100-day period. Three months later she said not all of these programs had materialized because the government had to be prudent when it made policies (gobble ... gobble ... gobble...).
Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said after the ministers' inauguration that Cabinet members would submit their wealth reports to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) within a fortnight. Two months passed. Andi said: "We were too ambitious at that time" (gobble...gobble...gobble...).
The President said he supported the immediate establishment of an independent team to probe the alleged poisoning of human rights activist Munir. A month went before Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi said it would only be established if it was "needed" (gobble ... gobble ... gobble...).
As a four-star general who served as a coordinating minister of security affairs in two cabinets, Susilo should have known better what promises he could fulfill and what he couldn't.
His experience serving as minister should have taught him the basic lessons of big government – that it is not easy to sway the bureaucracy; and there are always good excuses for subordinates not to fully carry out directives, not least personal political interests.
The time of big promises (the election campaign period) is over. It's time for "Dr Yudhoyono", as spokesman Andi likes to refer him, to translate pledges into actions.
One "novel" idea could be just to actually initiate something successfully without boasting about it beforehand.
Lucky for Susilo, most Indonesians do not keep a checklist of promises made. But maybe winning the presidency is all about wide smiles, big hugs, and kissing children – all captured on TV, of course.
A program aired by CNN noted one important angle in President George W. Bush's success in retaining office, compared to his father. In his re-election campaign, the senior Bush had said he would not raise taxes, the same promise he made during his first term and did not keep. Bush's opponent, Bill Clinton, during the 1992 debates attacked on that point and won the presidency.
That is a moral that Susilo must carefully consider – stop making promises that he cannot keep, because if you do not say it then people will not ask.