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They want to topple me: President
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has once again made public his fears of the possibility of a political movement to topple him under the guise of antigraft rallies and on the back of the Bank Century scandal
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resident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has once again made public his fears of the possibility of a political movement to topple him under the guise of antigraft rallies and on the back of the Bank Century scandal.
"I prayed at night with my wife and family," Yudhoyono said Sunday in a televised speech during his Democratic Party's summit in Jakarta.
"What are these lies and character assassinations *against me* for? My logic says these political movements want to discredit, shake and topple me in the short term."
Yudhoyono was referring to allegations from several NGOs, particularly the Bastion of People's Democracy (Bendera), to the effect that several people in Yudhoyono's inner circle, including his son Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro, received money from the Bank Century bailout.
The bailout cost Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million).
Yudhoyono used his speech Sunday to once again deny any wrongdoing by himself, any of his close associates or the Democratic Party in relation to the bailout.
He added he had been briefed about a rally planned for Dec. 9 to mark International Anticorruption Day, but was really based on a "hidden political scenario" unrelated to the antigraft movement.
"Thank God, though, I've received fairly complete informa-tion about who's behind it and the target of the December 9 movement," Yudhoyono said.
He also shot back at individuals and groups who had recently joined in the antigraft fray, saying they were simply hopping on the bandwagon, having never before deigned to get involved.
In an immediate response to Yudhoyono's speech, Prabowo Subianto, founder of the opposition Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), dismissed his allegations, saying his party only sought to reveal the truth behind the Bank Century scandal.
This is the second case in which Yudhoyono has openly warned of a plot against himself.
On July 17, following the bombings earlier in the day of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, he claimed to be a terrorist target and said the elections commission would be attacked to waylay his chances at the polls.
At that time, too, Prabowo was quick to deny any such threat.
With Yudhoyono's predictions falling flat, debate arose over whether he had gone public to prevent such attacks or he had received poor intelligence.
Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said the President's warning this time around might be true.
"Those who are part of the anticorruption movement, please step forward. Those who are not, do not stand in the way," he said cryptically.
Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chair-man Erry Riyana, said Yudhoyono's concern that the antigraft movement could be exploited for ulterior motives at the expense of public interest and order was under-standable.
"The most important thing is that the President does not forbid the December 9 demonstration," he pointed out.
Some observers, however, accuse Yudhoyono of falling prey to his paranoia, and say he should stop playing his old card of being the victim to gain public support.
"I truly regret his statement about there being a hidden agenda behind the December 9 movement," said Fadjroel Rachman from the Coalition of Anticorruption Civil Societies (Kompak).
"The rally is meant as a celebration of the anticorruption spirit. If the President is innocent, why should he be worried about it?"
