Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Eight months ago, top officials were seen attending Cabinet meetings dressed simply. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono often wore smart, short-sleeved batik shirts and his Cabinet also sported casual attire.

Air conditioners in the meeting room and in the Vice President and President's offices were set to 25 degrees Celsius from the previous 16-17 degrees – as part of the nationwide energy saving campaign.

The drive began last July when Yudhoyono issued the Presidential Instruction No. 10/2005 on energy saving following the government's fuel subsidy cuts. The rule was supposed to apply in all government offices across Indonesia.

Lamps were turned off during the day. Bureaucrats were supposed to travel less in cars and Yudhoyono and deputy Jusuf Kalla set very public examples by cutting down the number of vehicles in their motorcades.

But few of these noble, belt-tightening moves are visible now.

From the outset, Yudhoyono's campaign received some skeptical responses from the public. His critics dismissed it as a show to appease the public's resentment of soaring basic commodity prices following the fuel price hikes.

These days, most officials are seen wearing heavy formal suits at the presidential office; from the press officers, the presidential guards to the Cabinet ministers – all the President's men.

In the press rooms in the Merdeka Palace and in the State Secretariat, air conditioners are set at between 16 and 20 degrees, otherwise officials would be steaming in their suits.

In the Presidential offices, rooms are brightly lit all day long, and lamps are even on outside. Motorcade sizes are also back to normal.

The vice president's offices are just as comfortable. Rooms are brightly lit and cool with the air conditioner temperature also set below 24 degrees. Lights in the vice president's media bureau are all on, even though the glass doors allow ample sunlight to come through.

A cleaner at the presidential office joked: "Well, it's getting hotter these past months and I guess they (officials) are not used to this heat. Besides, other political issues have diverted their attention."

Ahmad Rusdi, the head of the presidential office, said: "If weather is hot, what's wrong with setting the aircon cooler?" He insisted the lights were switched on only when necessary, saying at night, only lamps in certain areas were on.