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Although the ceremony to swear in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for a second five-year term was a historic moment for the leader, People’s Consultative Assembly chairman Taufik Kiemas stole a bit of the limelight as he fumbled his way through the inauguration.

Former Vice President Jusuf Kalla smiled and other ministers laughed when Taufik, who presided over the ceremony, failed to mention Kalla several times and made three errors when referring to Yudhoyono.

“Sorry, I forgot. Sorry, I missed it, your honor, Vice President Jusuf Kalla,” Taufik said at one point during the ceremony.

He also failed to mention former President BJ Habibie, who attended the inauguration.

Taufik again omitted Kalla’s name when he thanked everyone who worked in the government from 2004 to 2009 just before ending his speech.

People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy chairman Hajriyanto Tohari, who was seated beside Taufik, had to remind him that he skipped a page of his speech.

Yudhoyono appeared unhappy when Taufik fumbled his name and title several times. Taufik referred to the president once as “Susilo Doctor Bambang Yudhoyono” and another time as “Doctor Susilo Yudhoyono.”

While many of those in attendance smiled and laughed, others appeared uncomfortable as the MPR chairman bungled his way through the ceremony.

Some speculated that Taufik may have been distracted by the glaring absence of his wife, former President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Taufik said last week that Megawati, a staunch critic and rival of Yudhoyono who failed to appear for the president’s first inauguration, might attend the swearing-in ceremony this time.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which Megawati chairs, has yet to say whether it will join the government or remain an opposition voice.

After the ceremony, the 65-year-old Taufik said he simply had trouble reading the speech because it had been printed in a particularly small font.