Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – The president on Monday acknowledged that public trust in law enforcement had plummeted during his six years in office, but hinted that some of the criticism was unfair and misdirected.

Opening a working meeting of the Attorney General's Office, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said law enforcers deserved some of the blame for the situation, but that everyone needed to ask themselves what had gone wrong and how it could be fixed.

"There has been a problem of public trust," the president said. "As intelligent people, if we feel mistrust or distrust, before accusing others, we should first take a look at ourselves to see if there are any weaknesses, errors or anything else out of line."

He did not specifically mention the AGO, which has seen several prosecutors involved in corruption cases. He said people simply lumped all the law enforcement bodies – including the National Police, the courts and prosecutors – and their scandals together.

There has been no shortage of scandals to go around, with the AGO, the police and the courts all dealing with embarrassing allegations of corruption and a so-called judicial mafia that influences legal decisions with cash. Even the Constitutional Court, which has been seen as one of the country's cleanest bodies, has had to address allegations of judges being bribed in electoral dispute cases.

Yudhoyono said opinion polls and surveys had documented the decline in public trust, a situation he blamed on a combination of different factors.

He cited problems with the country's rule of law, legal framework and law enforcement system, as well as corruption and systematic public and media attacks on law enforcers, some of which he said were "biased and subjective". "To make things worse, law enforcers have been ineffective in communicating with the public," Yudhoyono added.

He said improving communication would be an important part of winning back the people. "You need to have good public relations," he told the meeting.

"Law enforcers should not be coming out with statements every day – law enforcement should be their major focus. However, when there is a public debate that has fallen out of context and you know the problem and its legal basis, then you should be able to communicate this effectively to the public."

Yudhoyono told the prosecutors there were five major challenges that carried far-reaching implications for everyone in the law enforcement community. "The first challenge is corruption eradication," the president said.

"Second, preventing terrorism. Terrorism hampers investment, economic activity and business. The third challenge is dealing with tax crimes. Remember that 70 to 80 percent of our revenue comes from taxes. This has implications for development and spending."

The fourth and fifth problems were drugs and illegal logging, Yudhoyono said. "I will question the attorney general if any of these five challenges are not overcome," the president added.

Attorney General Basrief Arief, who was only appointed last month, said the working meeting was focused on improving the performance of the AGO and regaining public trust, through ensuring the office's improved integrity.