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Editorial: All the President's men
For millions of ordinary Indonesian people, it is difficult to understand how President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the holder of a doctorate degree in agricultural economics from a prestigious state university, could be so easily lured by his advisor Heru Lelono into believing that seawater could be converted into fuel and that the production of an untested new rice variety could yield twice as much as others
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For millions of ordinary Indonesian people, it is difficult to understand how President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the holder of a doctorate degree in agricultural economics from a prestigious state university, could be so easily lured by his advisor Heru Lelono into believing that seawater could be converted into fuel and that the production of an untested new rice variety could yield twice as much as others.
These two embarrassing scandals, however, are only the tip of the iceberg of much deeper problems in this country regarding our leaders' behavior and widespread abuse of power among those who are in power or those who are close to the power center.
The President has become a source of jokes after the revelation of the two hoaxes which were based on "scientific findings", i.e., "Supertoy HL2" rice and "Blue Energy" alternative fuel. Even many elementary school children laugh to hear how easily the President was fooled by Heru who reportedly told him about these two "miracles". Despite the desperate "damage control" efforts by Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyanto and presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng, people are still at a loss about what to think of their leader.
Either Heru is very lucky or he is too valuable to President Yudhoyono because he remains on the President's list of favorites, even though Yudhoyono's own party, the Democratic Party, has urged the party's founder to dismiss him. Heru is still in a safe position, probably because the two hoaxes have brought minimal financial loss to the state.
In their book, All the President's Men, The Washington Post's Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward describe how Richard Nixon's men used all means, including illegal wire tappings, to ensure Nixon's victory in the presidential campaign against Democratic Party nominee George McGovern in the 1972 race. In contrast to Nixon's staff, those in Indonesia who belong to the president's inner circle are more accustomed to lucrative opportunities through what is popularly known here as KKN (corruption, collusion and nepotism).
Journalists who are familiar with presidential affairs will not be surprised by Heru's behavior, because since Soeharto's presidency many people around the president are geniuses in enriching themselves or in accumulating power.
In its Monday headline, "SBY-linked scams smack of nepotism", The Jakarta Post categorized the rice and energy scandals as belonging to "Nepotism". This is basically saying that nepotism, the N part of KKN, is still very much alive in Indonesia today -- but that it can also kill your political career when it comes back to haunt you.
We detect nepotism not only in the presidential office, but also in the way parties are selecting candidates for next year's parliamentary elections. And, without being too specific, perhaps nepotism is also evident in the appointment of top military positions and in promotions.
Soeharto openly gave lucrative projects or bank credits to his own children, his cronies and loyalists. Many of these projects have now become our burdens as they were rife with KKN elements, while those who were responsible for these huge economic losses are still as free as birds.
Besides incumbent President Yudhoyono, Soeharto's other successors -- B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri -- were not free from KKN, although their dirty practices were conducted in more "sophisticated" ways. They often promoted their own friends or relatives to lucrative or prestigious positions, bypassing more qualified candidates.
But again, KKN is not just the monopoly of our presidents. Just look at the list of our parliamentary candidates. Many children or relatives of senior politicians are at the top of the list merely because they are siblings or relatives of influential politicians.
Indonesians typically have a short memory and have forgotten that it was nepotism, along with corruption and collusion, that brought down Soeharto's regime. We as a nation are still repaying the huge debts they created, and we will continue to bear the burdens caused by our leaders' corrupt behavior.
