B

eing the president of a large and complex society is an impossible task, a superhuman task really.

We unfairly burden president-elect Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo with a mountain of our hopes and aspirations because all citizens aspire for a better future. Regularly these hopes are toppled when they remain unfulfilled.

In some cases, the new president is truly incompetent, or worse and leaves the office in far worse shape than when he or she entered. This was the glaring case with the transition in the US when President Barack Obama took over from George W. Bush. Despite the multiple global disasters Obama inherited, the American people soon forgot his incoming legacy, demanding quick and enduring resolution of the carryover problems.

I believe President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is now subjected to the same memory lapse by the electorate bemoaning the lack of this and that during his tenure: Fiscal mess to be sure, but remember also that during his tenure, Indonesia enjoyed the most stable and steadily growing economy of all the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) membership countries.

So enjoy your retirement Mr. President '€” you may not be superman, and you have left some serious issues for your successor, but you also delivered on others.

And good luck to president-elect Jokowi; the careful and sure steps you have begun to take are encouraging for the continued development of the country in the years ahead.

James
Jakarta