I

t was the second night in a row when the lights went out in my residential complex in Cibubur. As I sat and browsed the news on my cell phone in total darkness on my terrace, I heard a neighbor rustling nearby.

'€œCan you imagine, two nights in a row?'€ I said.

'€œWell, you know, SBY is no longer President, so this area is no longer special. They don'€™t care about us anymore,'€ my neighbor replied.

He was referring to our most famous neighbor, erstwhile president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

SBY'€™s mansion is only about two kilometers from us in Cikeas, which is part of Cibubur, an area that spans three regencies.

Cibubur was privileged to bear the status as being inside '€œthe president'€™s first ring'€ for the ten years of SBY'€™s tenure.

However, ask one of us about the most significant impact of Cibubur'€™s most famous resident, and we'€™d likely say frequent traffic jams from the presidential motorcade.

But then it'€™s human nature to look for the negative and not the positive.

'€œDid we really enjoy privileges during SBY'€™s tenure as president?'€ I asked myself '€” especially after tap water in my neighborhood was suddenly cut off just a few days later.

I recalled what a local property agent boasted when I was looking for a house several years ago: '€œThe president lives in this area, so the government must pay serious attention. Local authorities don'€™t want to make their territories look bad in the eyes of SBY, do they?'€

Among the promises the agent made were dependable supplies of electricity and tap water, well-maintained streets connecting Cikeas and the Jagorawi toll road, and '€” most importantly '€” consistently rising property prices.

Indeed, it did feel like there were fewer blackouts and fewer water outages when SBY was in office.

But, to his credit, the agent made no promises about speedy commutes to and from Cibubur: As president, the streets would be cleared for SBY; for us, however, not so much.

Ask a resident to describe the area and '€œtraffic jams'€ is a more likely response than '€œSBY'€™s house'€.

Case in point: Cibubur resident Hendra N.S. gained national attention in 2010 after complaining about shabby treatment by police clearing the road for Yudohoyono'€™s motorcade.

Hendra'€™s comments opened a floodgate of discontent about the incessant road closures for SBY'€™s motorcade. Calls for the president to live at the State Palace quickly went viral.

Fast forward two years: Yudhoyono is out of a job. Traffic in Cibubur is even worse.

Sure, there are no more motorcades '€” but now there'€™s a huge project to build a four-meter-wide and 12-meter-deep water catchment area along Cibubur'€™s main street.

Construction, which started only days before Yudhoyono'€™s exit, is ongoing. The work takes up more than half the street, exacerbating congestion and causing massive headaches.

It'€™s also claimed several motorcycles and cars that have accidentally plunged into the holes, because of poor warning signs and lights.

Meanwhile, police are less interested in stopping motorcyclists from driving the wrong way down the street. More public busses and minivans are waiting for passengers at the junction leading to SBY'€™s house.

A friend once said you don'€™t realize how much you love something until you lose it '€“ but was this really true in the case of having a presidential neighbor?

Personally, I doubt it.

While there'€™s no doubt that things are different without the motorcades, police and presidential bodyguards; other problems might just be unfortunate coincidences.

Many people here cynically connect the '€œmessier'€ Cibubur of today and SBY'€™s exit. After all, when he was president, SBY was known as a perfectionist who made his staff paranoid about disappointing him.

In any event, Yudhoyono is now just another resident of Cibubur '€” just like me and my neighbors. '€œAfter no longer serving as president, I now experience traffic jams,'€ SBY said after meeting with his successor at the State Palace in December.

Now, if only Yudhoyono could own up to how many blackouts and empty taps he'€™s experienced since leaving office.

'€” Bagus BT Saragih