In a recent speech in Boston, former Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry underlined the key roles President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who won a landslide victory for his second term, has played for Indonesia.
"It was the first time that any Indonesian president has been democratically re-elected," he told hundreds of businesspeople and prominent Boston locals, prior to Yudhoyono's speech late last month.
Echoing two dominant Western print media outlets - The New York Times and The Economist - Kerry argued Yudhoyono's peaceful re-election indicated a more mature and substantive Indonesian democracy, praising him for having managed the economy through the global economic crisis, and for solidifying the practice of democracy.
Since Yudhoyono's inauguration, he has been the darling of Western media, which has very rarely criticized him or his policies.
Most media and Western figures have failed to recognize the excellent record of Indonesian people in regard to election participation, while discounting the role of Vice President Jusuf Kalla in helping Yudhoyono make quick decisions in many key issues, political experts said.
"There is a gap between what the international community sees and what we feel here. Yudhoyono's administration produced very controversial laws on both legislative and presidential elections, allowing fraud during the 2009 elections," said Siti Zuhro from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).
"The recent elections were disorganized, enabling the elite to indulge in vote-rigging and vote-buying."
Despite this mess, people still voted, with more than 60 percent putting their trust in the incumbent.
"It was the people who made the election possible despite rotten regulations, political parties and politicians. If laws and elections are the indicators of political achievement then Yudhoyono has been very poor in his performance," Siti said.
Near total support from the international community and huge popularity at home, however, showed that Yudhoyono - more than previous Indonesian presidents - possessed a deep understanding of his people, and knew how to maximize political benefits, instead of prioritizing his constituents.
When Yudhoyono won the presidency in 2004 election, many foes and political pundits considered his victory to be merely luck or a coincidence at best.
They pointed out that only a "mistake" by then president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who promoted him from a nearly sidelined energy minister to a coordinating minister for political and security affairs, and then had cornered him by the end of her administration, had hugely elevated his popularity.
But between 2004 and 2009, he proved them all wrong. He led his Democratic Party to victory in 2009 election, defeating old party giants, Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Later on he was able to skilfully tame Golkar and isolate the PDI-P.
Yudhoyono managed to get rid of Kalla, and endorse Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, in his successful bid for chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly, dividing the PDI-P, and ending political threats from the party for the long-term.
He then united most parties - including Golkar - under his Democratic Party's alliance by giving ministerial posts to leaders of the parties for his next Cabinet.
"He is too busy becoming a great politician by trying to weaken all his political foes instead of being a good president who is supposed to take care of people," Siti said.
University of Indonesia political expert Adrinof Chaniago said that as such a strongly legitimized president, Yudhoyono should focus on building a sustainable political system and institution rather than busily acquiring power.
"He has contributed only a little to political ethics, nothing else," he said.
Both Siti and Adrinof urged Yudhoyono to use the people's trust to implement policies and programs that could build a more substantive democracy and healthy political system and institutions in his second term.
