Waiting for a more assertive SBY

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's leadership has again been criticized following his speech in response to recommendations from a fact-finding team.

The President had set up the team to investigate the controversies surrounding the National Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

For many people, the President's speech on Monday was no more than a vague and confusing climax to a legal drama, as the speech did not resolve any problems.

Yudhoyono said that he had opted for an out-of-court settlement to put an end to the Police-KPK conflict, which is widely viewed among the public as an underhand attempt to undermine the antigraft institution.

"From several interviews [with members of the public] on TV stations, we can see that most people are confused by his statement," communications expert Effendi Ghazali from the University of Indonesia (UI) told The Jakarta Post.

Ghazali said that the President's communication followed a carefully constructed strategy that would keep his hands clean and keep himself in a position as someone the public could like.

He did note, however, that the President appeared to be on the defensive when his speech touched on the Bank Century scandal, the bailout for which cost the state at least Rp 6.7 trillion.

According to Siti Zuhro, a political expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the President needs to be more assertive in making decisions in the future, for the sake of the Indonesian people.

"The President's speech was a great moment. It was like the climax to the long history of law mafia and corruption in this country," she said.

"But it was also a kind of gamble on his leadership."

She too expressed some disappointment over the President's speech.

"There should be no doubt *the President should* take clear and firm action on this case," she said. "If, for instance, the parliament was on the side of the police, he *the President* should not be afraid of that because he would get the public on his back."

In an apparent bid to ease public criticism, the President set up an eight-member fact-finding team to investigate the controversies surrounding the National Police's actions toward two suspended KPK deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah.

The police declared Bibit and Chandra suspects after the KPK investigated the Bank Century scandal, which allegedly implicated National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji.

The public strongly criticized the National Police for trying to bring Bibit and Chandra to court, claiming the move was an effort to weaken the antigraft body.

After working for two weeks, the fact-finding team recommended to the President that the case against the two KPK suspended deputy chairmen be dropped as there was a lack of evidence and many unresolved missing links.

The team also recommended the President punish high-ranking officials in the National Police and the Attorney General's Office for criminalizing the deputies.

In response to the recommendations, the President was expected to provide a concrete resolution to the scandal. However, the speech failed to meet public expectations.

Some local NGOs also criticized Yudhoyono's speech, describing it as confusing.

A political analyst from the Indonesian Civilized Circle (Lima), Ray Rangkuti, said that the speech did not resolve any problems.

"The President didn't make any decisions at all. He did not tell the police to drop the commission's case," he said earlier this week. "He didn't state any possible punishments for the police and AGO officials involved in the case."

Rangkuti said the speech did nothing but arouse more public curiosity over whether the President seriously intended to combat corruption.

Vice chairman of the Institute for Democracy and Peace (Setara), Bonar Tigor Naipospos, also said he was disappointed with the speech, as it did not resolve the conflict between the KPK, the Police and the AGO.

Christovita Wiloto, CEO of PowerPR, said that despite the good image President Yudhoyono had built, he was at risk of losing the public's trust.

Christov said this goes beyond the Police-KPK saga, and cited the free education promises during the election campaign as another example, noting that the fact parents must still pay fees has disappointed many people, who believed from the campaign promises that no fees would be needed.

"I see the President always manages to create a good image when it is actually public trust that matters most. He always wants to look good in front of the public, but it is not good looks that make the public trust you," Christov said.

"I think he should be honest and not be a drama queen. Making promises and being unable to deliver on them can also be considered as dishonest. The President should come clean, instead of denying *responsibility* and looking for a scapegoat."

In terms of leadership, Christov sees Yudhoyono as a cautious person when making decisions. However, he adds, if the President can explain why he needs time to make the decision, people will understand.

"If he can't explain why it is taking him so long to make a decision when people are waiting for his response, he will lose the public's trust," he said.

"On the other hand, he should not make new mistakes, such as delaying his response or making a decision that damages justice. He should listen to what the public needs most."

Christov said that communication involves issue and substance: When an issue arises, it will go away quickly if it has no basis, but substance emerges if there is truth in the issue.

"The challenge for the President now is to prove that the issue is really just an issue, not a substance. I think there must be something substantial that is slowing down his decision making."