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ext time President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants to increase the price of fuel because it is the right thing to do, he should invoke the popular mantra coined by the famous sneakers maker: just do it!

After he increased the price of fuel by 44 percent on Saturday a week ago, the nation calmly accepted it. Sure, we all have to brace ourselves for the inevitable soaring inflation and, sure, we are all grumbling and some of us even curse the President for making our lives miserable. Social media sites are already full of it.

But the threats of massive demonstrations by students and workers have not materialized. They already played their part in opposing the plan before the increase and some of their protests turned violent. They had been successful in stopping or intimidating the government, which had wanted to increase the fuel price as far back as early 2012. When the President decided to call their bluff, lo and behold, he prevailed.

This should be a good lesson for the President, who is not known for making decisions on impulse. At times, a man'€™s got to do what a man'€™s got to do. You'€™re the elected President.

There was one other occasion this past week when the nation wished the President had been firmer.

This concerned the government'€™s decision to relocate some 60 families, who had been forced out of their homes in Sampang on Madura Island, East Java, because of their Shiite beliefs, as opposed to the Sunni teaching embraced by the majority of Muslims in Indonesia. They had been housed in the Sampang sports hall for nine months but now they have been relocated, admittedly to a more decent shelter, but further away from their village. The central government defended the relocation, saying that it was for their own good and safety. The prospect of them ever returning to their village is even more distant now.

The right thing to do, going by the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion, is to send them back to their villages. If anyone harasses or threatens them, the police should come to their protection. You, Mr. President, are sworn to uphold the Constitution. Just do it!

One new program that deserves public support is the disbursement of the direct cash assistance to the poorest of the poor to help them cope with the fuel hike. For the next four months, some 15.5 million families are entitled to Rp 150,000 (US$15.1) a month from the government. For some reason, the ever skeptical media are playing up stories about poor administration, abuses, leaks and money falling into the wrong hands.

Is this a case of throwing good taxpayers'€™ money after bad? Maybe.

As bad as the abuses and leaks are, and some money may be going into the wrong hands, they are on a far
smaller scale than the amount of taxpayers'€™ money that has been going into the pockets of the wealthy through the fuel subsidy. The 44 percent increase in fuel prices still leaves more than 30 US cents of subsidy for each liter the wealthy pays. The uncritical media, once again, are barking up the wrong tree.

One should commend Yudhoyono for going against the grain and apologizing to Malaysia and Singapore for the disruption caused by the massive haze coming from the forest fires in Sumatra. He broke away from the trend set by his own ministers, who became defensive in the face of criticism from our neighbors, some chiding them and even trying to pass on the blame. The simple fact is that the fires, whoever started them, happened on our soil. Kudos to the President for rebuking the ministers.

So, we have two occasions when the President displayed the rare '€œjust do it'€ attitude. It could have been three if he had acted promptly in dealing with the Shiite families in Sampang. He could still make it three in the next few days if he followed the advice of his own Democratic Party, which is seeking to expel the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) from the coalition government.

The PKS, desperate to shore up its rapidly waning support because of embarrassing corruption scandals (and sex too) involving its top leaders, had openly opposed the government'€™s plan to increase fuel prices, going out on a massive poster campaign nationwide.

The campaign momentarily diverted public attention away from the investigation of the scandal, but this week, the trial of its former chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq began with an even bigger bang. The prosecutors in Luthfi'€™s hearing named his successor Anis Matta and PKS spiritual leader Hilmi Aminuddin as recipients of some of the ill-gotten money from the beef import trade.

One could feel sorry for the PKS for having these troubles before an election year, but should the party be allowed to get away with an open defiance against Yudhoyono at a time when he needed the full support of the coalition on something as crucial as raising fuel prices? What is he going to do about the three PKS ministers in the Cabinet, if the PKS is effectively no longer in the coalition?

Mr. President, you can invoke the mantra one more time: just do it!

'€” Endy M. Bayuni