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SBY, the military strategist besieged by war on two fronts
Just one month into his second term, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is already busy fighting two simultaneous wars on the home front that are virtually crippling his administration and undermining his first 100-day program
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ust one month into his second term, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is already busy fighting two simultaneous wars on the home front that are virtually crippling his administration and undermining his first 100-day program.
It could have been a war on terrorism or it could have been a war to alleviate poverty. He really should be tackling climate change or focusing on improving the massive infrastructure deficiency to help propel economic growth. Or how about fighting massive corruption in the judiciary?
Instead, Yudhoyono has been besieged for much of the past month by a battle pitting the police against the anticorruption commission (KPK) on one front, and the controversy over the massive government bailout of Bank Century on the other.
In spite of a landslide re-election win in July, Yudhoyono does not get to choose his own battles. The KPK and Bank Century cases have carried over from his first term. Rather than starting on a clean slate, Yudhoyono has had to deal with these two hot political potatoes before he could even begin tackling other more pressing problems.
On the KPK battle, he has to confront not only the two suspended KPK deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, but also public opinion, which is very much behind them as they square off with the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office.
Yudhoyono repeatedly claimed he did not wish to interfere in the legal process against Bibit and Chandra, who were charged with corruption. But the general public refuses to accept the claim that he cannot halt the investigation being pursued by the two institutions that are effectively under his control.
His speech Monday addressing the issue failed to pacify critics. While asking the police and government prosecutors “not to continue” the criminal investigation, he said he would leave it to them to decide the best course of action.
He could not be more ambivalent. Instead of bringing the dispute to an end once and for all, Yudhoyono may have unnecessarily prolonged the battle.
This is a style that has come to be expected from Yudhoyono, a man who built his military reputation as a thinker and strategist rather than a field commander, a man who during war works from behind the lines rather leading at the front.
Even in his first term as President, he spent most of his time concocting strategies and happily letting others, including former vice president Jusuf Kalla, make decisions for him. If the policy went awry, he would quickly wash his hands, but if the policy turned out right, he would receive the credit.
On the second war front, the Bank Century controversy, he is fighting the House, which has been
campaigning for an inquiry into the decision to bail out the bank in 2008 at a hefty cost of Rp 6.76 trillion, more than 10 times the original estimate.
Regarding his approach to the KPK, Yudhoyono has stayed above the fray but he is clearly deploying his Democratic Party to act on his behalf and control the course of action.
Ironically, his opposition in this battle includes all five political parties that are partners in his coalition government.
In another example of a strategist at work, Yudhoyono ordered his Democratic Party on Monday to support the petition for an inquiry, after strongly opposing it when the campaign began two weeks ago. If you can’t beat them, join them. Having a sizable though not controlling section in the House, the Democratic Party can name people in the inquiry committee and retain some control on its direction and possibly its outcome.
The coalition is in on the ride obviously, hoping to squeeze more concessions from Yudhoyono. At the end of the inquiry, there would be a compromise based on a deal that was struck behind the scenes between the coalition and the Democratic Party.
Never underestimate Yudhoyono the strategist. This is a man who won the re-election bid with more than 60 percent of votes in July and who, through coalition building, theoretically controls at least 75 percent of the House.
But if these strategies were considered political capital to launch his second presidency, he has squandered most of it after his poor handling of the KPK and Bank Century sagas.
The question today is whether strategy alone is sufficient for a President to run a country, without making the tough decisions. If this is how he leads the nation in the next five years, then Indonesia is in for a rough and frustrating time.
It is not only Yudhoyono who has suffered from these two wars. The nation has been consumed by these issues at the expense of the larger national agenda.
As President, he is also the CEO of this country. He has to make decisions. That’s why the nation voted for him.
