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Graft Scandals Taking Toll on SBY’s Popularity
Anita Rachman & Arientha Primanita | June 26, 2011

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maspanji
12:07pm Jul 4, 2011

Indonesians still reeling from the Stockholm syndrome of Soeharto era where the president is always pointing finger at every directions to get the things done ( mohon petunjuk dari Bapak )Pak BeYe show different style of leadership in democratic era, for example corruption eradication is not the president' job, its the Police and Attorney General Office but the people expect the president to prod these agency to do their job, that was over and they don't know it.

padt
8:17am Jun 27, 2011

One of the ploys political parties here use is when one of their members does something illegal is to have an internal investigation - ie - sweep it under the carpet.

The only way to deal with people who do illegal things is to apply the law. The political parties put themselves avbove the law when they brazenly and arrogantly tell the public they have 'disciplined' a party member. They fool no one.

No wonder people are losing faith in politicians. The people knopw they are being consistently lied to.

Before the next election takes place - let me get in early with this comment.

The only way some parties will maintain their numbers, given the amount of studidity and corruption taking palce at present, will be through massive fraud and vote rigging.

Watch this space. It will take place - or at least they will attempt it. Because there is no way any decent intelligent Indonesian would vote for these dispicable people.

exbrit
6:26am Jun 27, 2011

Difficult to control graft when the perpetrators are making the laws

danielnoor
11:40pm Jun 26, 2011

SBY is not pathetic nor a weak leader. At same time nobody is Perfect. Personally I feel the system of governance and parliament in Indonesia is completely wrong. Because of this, whatever policies and directives from the President are hardly implemented accordingly.

It is really ridiculuos to expect those in the DPR to follow whatever decrees that come from the President simply because majority of the Members of the House does not come from the President's party. because of this, those in the House tend to over rule or just put aside whatever directives that come from the President.

Just look at the Palestinians. The Members of the House are from Hamas and form the majority and the President is from Fatah. Every time the President tries to make a peace deal, more rockets will be launched by Hamas.

Do you know there are only 2 Governments in this world where the President do not have a majority control of the Parliament ? Is is Indonesia and Palestine. And I think everybody knows the current situations of the people now.


masmon2
11:25pm Jun 26, 2011

"how did he get the job"

I have asked that very question of people and overwhelmingly it seems that people voted for him because of his looks.....he looks like a president should, they say..

It's all image, hence the presidency of Megawati, purely voted in on the image of her father..

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s approval rating has taken a major hit, a recent public opinion survey shows, mainly due to the string of scandals plaguing his Democratic Party. 

The Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) released the results of its June 1-7 poll on Sunday, showing the president’s rating at 47.2 percent, down from 56.7 percent in January. 

Sunarto Ciptoharjono, a senior LSI researcher, said the decline was mainly due to the string of graft scandals under his term, especially the case of former Democrat treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin. 

“There are many unresolved cases such as the Bank Century bailout, the murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib and the corruption cases involving Nazaruddin — a member of Yudhoyono’s party,” Sunarto said. 

“This is critical point for the president,” he said. “He should make a move [to boost his popularity] before 2014, or it will affect the Democrats’ chances in the elections.” 

He said the perception that the president had been slow to act on these allegations had hurt his credibility. “The allegations of corruption cases involving Democrat officials have destroyed the president’s anticorruption image,” the researcher said. 

Nazaruddin was fired from his party post and fled to Singapore before he could be questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over a graft-tainted construction deal for the Southeast Asian Games. 

He has since accused several other high-ranking members of the ruling party of various acts of corruption. 

Yudhoyono’s approval rating has declined steadily in a series of surveys published by the LSI since January 2010, when he posted a 60.7 percent rating. This has since dropped to 56.7 percent in January this year. 

The president’s rating would have been even lower if the survey had been carried out after the execution of an Indonesian maid in Saudi Arabia, Sunarto noted. 

The LSI said Yudhoyono needed a “big bang” to boost the Democrats’ popularity in time for the next elections, in which he would not be able to run because of term limits on the presidency. 

“Otherwise, Yudhoyono will face the same fate as [former President] Megawati Sukarnoputri in 2004, when she no longer had the charisma to help her party [in the vote],” Sunarto said. 

He added that public perception of the administration was weak, with Vice President Boediono seen as “not the type of leader who gets things done.” 

However, Mustafa Abubakar, the state enterprises minister and a Democrat, said on Sunday that the LSI survey did not reflect the head of state’s high standing on the international stage. 

“We should appreciate his achievements that have been acknowledged in the regional and global spheres,” Mustafa said. 

Ruhut Sitompul, a Democratic legislator, said the survey should be viewed by the faction as an early warning ahead of the 2014 general elections. 

“This decline in the approval rating should be a lesson for us and an opportunity to introspect,” he said. “Now we have three and a half years to consolidate the party base.” 

But the lawmaker acknowledged that his party was in need of a “cleanup,” with members having to face graft allegations. He also said the Democrats had punished errant members. 

“I have said to Yudhoyono that because of what is happening in the party, we need to clear the air,” Ruhut said.