T

he birthday of incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), not a lack of funds or bad governance, is the main reason for a series of disasters hitting the country over the last five years, says a prominent shaman.

"SBY was born on Sept. 9, 1949. According to an ancient Javanese almanac, chaos will follow the man who was born on that date," Permadi, who is also the chief patron of the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra), said during a discussion at the House of Representatives in Jakarta, on Wednesday.

"SBY was born under the shelter of Batara Durga - the Goddess of Chaos. He then picked a man with the name *Jusuf Kalla' as his vice president. The word *Kalla' is part of the name of the God of Chaos - Batara Kalla," he added.

Permadi then said the combination of those chaotic elements made the current presidential government "Shiva" or destructive.

"Ever since SBY became president in 2004, there has not been a day without a disaster. The almanac speaks the truth," he said.

In the first months of SBY's presidency, the country was struck with a catastrophic tsunami in Aceh, which killed around 200,000 people.

In the last few months of SBY's term, the country witnessed a string of military airplane crashes.

SBY's political opponents have been using the disasters as political weapons in their quest to stop the incumbent from being re-elected. Some of them, including Permadi, use mystical scripture prophecies to support their claims.

Permadi said that his disciple, Kejawen, was uncommon and was very difficult to comprehend, especially by men who were familiar with Western-style education.

"The fact we are now facing is that SBY will go against Kalla in the election. The Goddess of Chaos versus the God of Chaos. There will be severe consequences of their duel," he said.

"Indonesia will suffer major chaos, and once a new leader emerges, we will finally see the nation at peace," he added.

Regardless of Permadi's claim that chaos will continue to shadow SBY, an environmental expert, Widyatmoko, said natural disasters were a common phenomena.

"Disasters are part of an inevitable process. If we see more disasters now, it is because the media can broadcast them more easily," he said.

Widyatmoko also said environmental disasters could be used for political purposes.

A member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), Marwa Jafar, said that SBY was not the only one to blame for all the disasters during his governance.