Not real: Two demonstrators wearing masks of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (left) and Vice President Boediono perform in front of Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday. Thousands of people joined the demonstrations on Wednesday in various cities across the country to mark the first year of Yudhoyono’s second term as President. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono marked the first anniversary of his second term by talking to radio show listeners, while protesters demonstrated outside the Palace on Wednesday.
In a rare use of the medium, Yudhoyono spent about 40 minutes interacting with the audience of the “President on the Radio” program, which was aired by local radio station Elshinta at 8 a.m.
The station broadcast the dialog live from the Presidential Office in Jakarta and rebroadcast the show in the evening. Yudhoyono answered questions from listeners who called in or sent text messages.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for voluntarily talking to me here. I wonder, Pak, how do you deal with criticism putting you in the corner?” asked Suwondo. The Probolinggo resident was one of four listeners who asked the President questions.
After asking Suwondo about the weather in East Java and expressing hope that the rains there would not cause floods, Yudhoyono said criticism was an inevitable part of being a leader and that he had mentally prepared himself for it.
“The presidents before me, Gus Dur and Megawati, they also faced criticism. Exceptions might be made if a government is an authoritarian regime. What is important is the press make fair and balanced reports, reporting the good and bad sides of the stories alike,” he said.
The President also answered questions on law enforcement, the government’s poverty programs and politics.
On Cabinet reshuffle rumors, Yudhoyono said he had not decided on a course of action yet, adding
“I cannot say now whether there will be a reshuffle or not. There needs to be a reason to carry out a reshuffle. The aims must be clear.
Reshuffles are not merely about taking the Cabinet apart and putting it back together again,” Yudhoyono said.
“I am currently conducting a thorough evaluation [of the Cabinet’s performance] with the Vice President’s assistance. Once it has been completed, and if we find that ministers have performed below par, I will ask them to improve their work, unless they have performed so poorly that they are unable to do their jobs well,” he added.
Politicians have speculated that a reshuffle of Yudhoyono’s second Cabinet was imminent, in the run up to its first anniversary on Oct. 20. The President reshuffled his Cabinet in 2005, a year after he was elected to his first term in 2004.
After the radio interview, Yudhoyono led closed-door meetings with his staff inside the Presidential Palace complex while rallies outside the Palace’s gates turned violent.
He ended the day by attending the 46th anniversary celebration of the Golkar Party, which is a member of his coalition.
The President is scheduled to lead a plenary Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday.
Vice President Boediono is expected to cut short a working visit in China for the meeting. Boediono departed for China on Monday and was scheduled to return to Jakarta this weekend. The Vice President has rearranged his itinerary and would return early Thursday morning, according to reports.
Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha denied that the plenary Cabinet meeting was related to a planned reshuffle.
“The Cabinet meeting in Bogor is just another routine meeting that is held periodically,” he said.
Three NGOs sent press statements to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday to voice their criticism of the President.
The Indonesian Association of Families of the Disappeared (IKOHI) and Rights ASEAN criticized Yudhoyono’s failure to resolve previous allegations of human rights violations.
The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) said another cause for concern was Indonesia’s swelling debts and state budget deficit in the first year of Yudhoyono’s second term.
