Camelia Pasandaran – The Indonesian public needs real action on corruption instead of "heavenly" promises, a political analyst said on Wednesday, following President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's declaration on Tuesday that he would launch a "jihad" against corruption.

"In terms of the speech technique, Yudhoyono's speech was very good," Andrinof Chaniago, a political expert at the University of Indonesia, told the Jakarta Globe.

"However, it's not any different from the election campaign, which was full of heavenly promises that might be very touching, but could not demonstrate how he's going to fulfill all these promises."

On Tuesday night, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sought to regain leadership in Indonesia's drive to wipe out corruption, terming it a "jihad" and vowing to lead from the front.

During his speech, which lasted for more than 20 minutes, Yudhoyono mentioned all the achievements of the government in combating corruption under his lead.

He also reminded protesters that Wednesday's rallies, coinciding with the International Anti-Corruption Day, should be conducted peacefully and should not allow parties to push their hidden political agendas.

"The speech is just a list of promises only," Andrinof said. "How can the public trust him if he can not inform them of the way he's going to combat corruption? It's the work of politician."

Andrinof said that the speech was only a reaction to public anger over the slow process of investigating the Bank Century scandal and public reaction to his previous speech.

"The public reacted strongly against his previous speech," Andrinof said. "To cover it, he has had to come up with a sympathetic speech now, because he really does care about public opinion."