Jakarta – The fight against corruption is apparently taking a back seat to poverty eradication programs, at least in terms of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's instructions to the Presidential Unit for the Management of Reform Programs (UKP3R).

Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi said that in a meeting with three members of the team, Yudhoyono asked for help implementing the programs outlined in his State of the Nation speech on Jan. 31.

In the speech, he pledged to raise millions of people out of poverty through pro-poor and infrastructure programs worth trillions of rupiah.

"The programs include poverty eradication, direct cash aid, improvement in public services such as health and education," Sudi told reporters after a meeting between Yudhoyono and UKP3R members Marsillam Simandjuntak, Edwin Gerungan and Agus Widjojo on Friday.

In the meeting, Yudhoyono also agreed that members of the special unit would brief him on their work weekly.

Sudi said the team was further tasked with helping to improve Indonesia's investment climate. "The President also said that investment must continue to grow," Sudi said.

Yudhoyono established the UKP3R in October to push for the changes needed to lure investment and fight corruption.

The team is headed by Marsillam, a former attorney general, known for his steadfast anti-graft stance. A presidential decree empowers members of the UKP3R to attend cabinet meetings.

The formation of the team and the appointment of Marsillam as its chairman drew the ire of Golkar party leadership and stirred controversy last year.

Golkar, the political vehicle of former president Soeharto, has been accused of fostering corruption. Analysts have said that the party would be the target of any reform drive by the team.

Some Golkar leaders even called for the party to withdraw its support for the Yudhoyono administration in protest against the team.

The dispute died away, however, after Golkar reiterated its support for Yudhoyono's administration in a national leadership meeting in November.

The future of the presidential unit has become uncertain following the passage of a law in December mandating the establishment of a presidential advisory board.

Marsillam said little after the meeting, commenting that what his team had done was not newsworthy.

"We are part of the Presidential office. We don't propose anything, we just do what the President asks us to do, so there is nothing interesting for the press," Marsillam said.