It is only natural that Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam would use all possible ways and means to defend his boss, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. But considering his high intellect, it is also understandable if some of us choose to brand him a “shameless licker” because he has defied basic principles of democracy and simple etiquette just to please his boss.
He has taken a confrontational approach toward the press, which enjoys great freedom since the fall of Soeharto in 1998. He was obviously bluffing when he threatened media that appeared unfriendly toward the government.
His boss is routinely criticized by the media, but whatever the motives of media criticism, such a practice is guaranteed by the Constitution. Besides, even the President always tries to refrain from intimidating the media, although we know he must often feel upset with negative reports about him, as if Yudhoyono “can do no right”.
Dipo deserves a big hug from the President for his “ready-to-die” act in return for the honorable position SBY gave him in the Cabinet. But the President needs to tell him, “Dipo, remember you are a PhD holder like me.
“You will stay with me in the Cabinet.”
Dipo is also perhaps waiting for such an assurance from the President amid speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle in near future.
Dipo’s behavior is very similar to that of Soeharto’s ministers who banned newspapers and magazines — like Tempo magazine — because they reported bad things about the then president and his family.
If Dipo were to act like a Soeharto loyalist, we could easily forgive him. But for a senior official working in a fully democratic nation to behave like a dictator is not only weird but also totally unacceptable.
He has acted far beyond his capacity in instructing all ministries and government agencies not to give access to information or advertise in any media that continue to criticize the government. We also do not know from where he gained the power to bar all the President’s staff from giving interviews to the press.
“These media outlets have excessively attacked the government in a very unproportional way, and are very politically motivated,” said Dipo on the sidelines of a meeting chaired by Yudhoyono at the Bogor Presidential Palace on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the Cabinet secretary singled out TVOne, Metro TV and Media Indonesia. The first station belongs to Aburizal Bakrie, the chairman of Golkar and former Yudhoyono minister. The other two outfits belong to Surya Paloh, who lost out to Aburizal in the Golkar chairmanship race. Many people are often upset with the two TV stations because they are perceived as being biased against the government.
But it is the public, and not Dipo, that has the supreme right to judge the media. Their audience, readers and listeners will abandon them if they do not like their coverage. It’s as simple as that.
Dipo, a student activist in the 1970s, has no shame in boasting that the government is free to whatever it likes when it comes to spending its money, as he stated when defending his “no ads” instruction. Even very ordinary Indonesians know that the government’s money comes from taxpayers and the revenue from selling our natural resources. The money does not belong to the government but to the state and the people. And we the people pay Dipo’s salary, plus incentives, as a senior official.
A few weeks ago, Dipo also harshly scolded a group of religious leaders who accused the government of lying to the people. He said their statement on lying was politically motivated and its goal was to oust the democratically elected president.
“They [the religious leaders] are crows,” the media quoted him as branding the prominent leaders.
Dipo has acted as a “bumper” for the President, which is all right because he might think he is paid to play such a role. But he should remember that the President does not pay him from his own pocket but from the people’s pockets.
Even Lt. Gen. (ret) Sudi Silalahi, one of Yudhoyono’s most fanatic defenders, never acts as rashly or as harshly as Dipo. He is much smarter in facing the public.
But Dipo is not alone. Many academics, journalists and nongovernmental organization activists drastically changed after joining the staff of President Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono. Many of their old friends have been shocked to see their defensiveness — often with no shame at all — in defending their boss even when blatant mistakes are made.
It is only natural that ministers, spokesmen, aides and advisors of the President protect and defend him and the vice president. But they need to use common sense. People are laughing at them.
Indonesia is now very different to what it was like when Soeharto was in power.
Does Dipo Alam work for a dictator like Soeharto or Yudhoyono, who has won two presidential
elections?
