J

ust after being named '€œBest Friend of the Press'€, in a recent speech President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono complained about being targeted as the enemy of the press. What irony!

The complaint is not something new. We are used to it. Our President always complains in every speech: at the occasion of the Association of Indonesian Journalists (PWI) in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, last year, at his Democratic Party congress and on several other occasions. He always criticizes the press as being unbalanced and having a political agenda.

However, while Yudhoyono complains, he never takes legal action against the press. Compared to the era of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, the press under Yudhoyono is safer. Megawati had journalists up for unpleasant reports including the headlines of the Rakyat Merdeka daily on the fuel subsidies, '€œMulut Mega Bau Solar'€ (Mega'€™s mouth smells of diesel fuel) and '€œMega lebih kejam dari Soemanto'€ (Mega more cruel than [serial killer] Soemanto), President Yudoyono never puts the press in such a situation. We should thank him for that.

So the irony of his remarks on National Press Day, Feb. 9, could lie in the personality of the President: being the best friend of the press and yet still complaining about the press conduct toward him.

Or, the irony could be in the journalists'€™ decision to recognize him as their best friend. If the President is the press'€™ best friend, why does the press keep attacking him? But, perhaps, journalists like to play with him, being a significant subject of reporting. And because the President never takes legal action against the press, he is, then, considered as their best friend.

The President and his Democratic Party have many reasons to be criticized. The party'€™s members are currently regarded as being among the most corrupt public figures whether in legislative or executive positions. During its congress last year, the President stated, '€œWe are not the only party who is corrupt, other parties are also corrupt.'€ He meant: '€œOthers are stealing too, so why is the press only after us?'€ It was quite ugly rhetoric.

Beside his weakness in rhetoric, the President is also noted for certain gestures. If you learn psychology, you will know that raising your finger to persons you address will make them feel uncomfortable, even intimidated. If your husband, your father, or your teacher, raises a finger to you, you will feel bad. Raising a finger and pointing it toward his audience is Yudhoyono'€™s specific gesture. Added to his stiff demeanor, his oration is unpleasant to watch. He is far from being friendly. We cannot compare him to Soeharto, our smiling general, who gave speeches with his soft and fatherly voice, and a smile, and never raised a finger.

If we study the relation between the press and the President, Yudhoyono has not suffered the worst. We remember how the press attacked then president Abdurrahman '€œGus Dur'€ Wahid, accusing him of receiving money both from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) and from the Kingdom of Brunei, and also creating rumors of an alleged girlfriend '€” allegations without proof when he left the presidency, and which were still unproven until the day he died.

Unlike Yudhoyono, Gus Dur, as he was called, didn'€™t really take the attacks seriously. His famous slogan was: '€œGitu aja kok repot?'€ (Why bother?). He attempted to make peace with the press, including through a gathering with chief editors sometime in 2001. They had a dialogue for better understanding, even though the press still continued to be critical of him.

While Bill Clinton was also heavily attacked by the US press '€” especially during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were known for successful press relations, which led to images of them as great leaders. Former president José Ramos-Horta of Timor Leste also attacked the press '€” of his own country and the Indonesian press '€” as being unfair toward him and even for lying about him.

A better press relationship was built by first president of Timor Leste Xanana Gusmao, to save the image of the new country. Tony Blair had a very good relationship with the press, but as he had rather too good a relationship with the press owned by Rupert Murdoch, this backfired against him in the end.

The freedom of the press was our dream during the New Order. Now it has become real. With this new paradigm, both the press and the objects of reporting must act wisely. A free press is not something to be afraid of. A free press is a channel to give a voice to the voiceless, to contribute ideas in nation building.

Objects of reporting, particularly public figures, should not feel paranoid about the press, which likewise should not over exploit the euphoria of being free. Some thinkers worry about this privilege, but as Thomas Jefferson once said, '€œThe benefits of a free press outweigh the risks.'€ (Phillip Meyer, Ethical Journalism, 1987).

The title '€œSahabat Pers'€ (Best Friend of the Press) given to President Yudhoyono begs the question: Is it another mockery by the press, or is it just a nice good-bye? The press owes something to the President '€” the security of reporting almost anything. With the end of his term of office coming up later this year, it might be a good idea to leave Yudhoyono in peace.

The writer is a lecturer at the Surabaya School of Communications and a founder of the Media Consumer'€™s Institute (Lembaga Konsumen Media) in Surabaya, East Java.