D

eng Xiaoping, the prominent reform leader of China once said: "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice."

These days, our people seem to be applying Deng's principle. It doesn't matter if Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY)-Boediono pair carry a neo-liberal economic policies, so long as the people's welfare is improved, poverty is alleviated, unemployment is mitigated, political and security stability is guaranteed, business runs well and the economy remains to grow amid the global economic downturn.

The neo-liberalism accusation itself, made by their rivals to reduce their electability still creates pros and cons and debate about whether it really exists in Indonesia. Particularly, whether SBY-Boediono is supporters of this principle remains debatable. I (and may be most other people) are wondering if the neo-liberalism is like rapacious devil that we have to curse. But, again, referring to Deng, does it really matter?

In regard to the presidential election, far before voting day, each individual actually had a preferred choice. It was what I found whenever I chatted with friends or listened to other people while they were nongkrong (hanging-out) at a warung (street-food stall). Campaign, advertisements and debates are just common tools in every election. But, could all of those things change what people already had in their mind? Several surveys told us that the numbers of people that had switched their choice to another candidate after those tools materialized was not significant.

People were being motionless on their stance to vote for SBY-Boediono despite any attempts to disgrace their reputation. In fact, the majority of voters admitted they voted for SBY-Boediono because of Indonesia's economic sustainability, stabilization on national security, achievement in corruption eradication, total reform in taxation and their clean images.

The two rivals kept attacking him during their campaigns and the televised debates, even till the last minute where they complained about the problematic electoral roll to the General Election Commission (KPU) and the Constitutional Court (MK).

The aggressiveness of SBY's rivals in accusing him of conspiring with the KPU for organizing an unfair election only created the public impression that SBY was being persecuted. Since Indonesians are such sentimental people they would show their tenderness to SBY. Wow, so melancholic.

Mega-Prabowo's harsh criticism toward SBY's economy policy vanished in the air because people saw nothing but a rhetorical voice without a concrete policy proposal to tackle the economy. It was the same thing with the "change" slogan bombastically promoted by Prabowo where they were only accepted by people with skepticism.

The Jusuf Kalla (JK)-Wiranto pair that promoted the slogan "the faster the better" was also not sellable. It was the same thing with their promotion to be a mandiri (autonomous) country and archipelagic pair (pasangan nusantara - where JK is Bugis and Wiranto is Javanese).

It was so clear then, that the election is more than just strategy. All three pairs had sophisticated strategies. They were each supported by a campaign team that consisted of prominent experts that designed strategies to win the battle. But the most important thing is that the people voted someone because of their trust.

As the old saying goes; past behavior will predict future, it can be applied to the last presidential election, too. The key factors that led SBY-Boediono to victory could be simplified by one word: trust.