I

t may be too late for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to bolster his public image by joining Twitter, but netizens will nevertheless soon be able to interact directly with the President on the social networking website, and may even receive a reply from him.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said on Wednesday that the President felt the need for his own Twitter account, as he wanted to engage more with the public.

“There will be a special code to let people know if a message has come directly from him. However, there will also be a team managing the account,” Julian told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He declined to reveal when the President’s official Twitter account would be launched.

The President has long been a target of criticism on social media outlets, with people choosing to vent their disappointments against the government via Twitter or Facebook.

But it appears prominent Twitter users have been waiting for Yudhoyono’s first message on Twitter.

An anonymous account, @TrioMacan2000, posted a message on Wednesday: “If SBY really is setting up an official Twitter account, what should we tell him first? Any ideas?”

It remains to be seen whether having a personal Twitter account will help Yudhoyono repair his image on social media websites.

Yogyakarta-based Gajah Mada University sociologist Arie Sujito said on Wednesday that Yudhoyono’s move would only trigger further criticism against him.

He said if the account was going to be used to boost his image, it would bring further disappointment to the public, which had been waiting for concrete action from the President.

“I think people have grown weary of politicians using social media to strengthen their public image. We certainly don’t need the President doing that too,” he said.

Arie added that Twitter would not be an effective way of engaging with the public due to the nature of the President, who would unlikely respond quickly to public’s aspirations.

“The question is what will he do with the account? Will he only use it to complain? Or will he react based on the public’s aspirations?” Arie said. “It’s very unlikely as he rarely responds to public outcries through rallies or criticism in the media.”

On April 8, the palace had already launched a verified Twitter account called @IstanaRakyat to accommodate communication between the public and the palace.

The account has so far only posted messages on lighter issues and the day-to-day activities at the palace, ranging from the history of the palace to what the President was having for lunch. A picture posted on Wednesday morning showed the President and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono donning sports outfits while jogging around the palace with the caption: “Starting the day with sport to be healthy”.

In 2005, Yudhoyono set up SMS center 9949 for the public to send him text messages about their criticisms and aspirations.

Four years later, he opened mail address P.O. Box 9949, to which people could be whistle blowers against corrupt judges by reporting them directly to him.

“These communication channels are well-maintained up to this day,” Julian said. (ogi)