D

uring his first five-year term as president, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was often accused of being too lethargic in his style. In the immediate wake of Friday's twin bombings in Jakarta, we have seen the exact opposite.

We saw another side to the soon-to-be-confirmed president-elect. A side that was unnecessarily menacing. A side that the nation need not see again.

Taking matters very personally, a discontented and visibly irate President showed the kind of firm leadership needed in times of crisis. He immediately condemned the attacks and rightfully pledged to take swift action by deploying all state facilities within his disposal to apprehend those connected with the heinous attack.

"I swear in the name of the Indonesian people that the government will take firm, appropriate and correct action," he said, while noting the government would not allow past mistakes to be repeated. However, the President's assertiveness did not stop there.

He then launched into an excessive rant about a major plot to disrupt the electoral process, sabotaging his re-election and actions that were tantamount to a rebellion.

Insisting his statement were based on qualified intelligence - "not gossip or rumors" - the President said this group had planned to occupy the General Elections Commission's (KPU) office during the ballot counting. As proof, he held up a copy of his photograph that had been used for target practice.

We found the second half of Yudhoyono's statement overly dramatic and upsetting at a time when the nation sought soothing words and sound leadership. In this case, we have to agree with the reactions of the defeated presidential candidates and several civil society groups who demand the President desist from politicizing the bombing.

Perhaps the President forgot he has unassailable lead in the unofficial election results and that campaigning ended a fortnight ago. Whether bad judgment or poor advice, intelligence reports are not suitable for public consumption, inadmissible in most courts and treacherous when used for political purposes.

Shades of a despotic regime bent on blacklisting political opponents through espionage.

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri was correct in saying that "if Yudhoyono knew about the terrorists' plans, why didn't he order police to directly take action?"

The most regrettable part of the President's statement is that it could confuse investigators in their inquiry into the bombing by creating a national polemic that may not have anything to do with Friday's attack.

Why did the President feel compelled to say the terrorist attack was carried out by a group "who may not be from the network we currently know of"?

Does this actually help identify the perpetrators, or is it a simple case of political innuendo that does nothing but throw the police off the scent of the guilty? Either way, the public will expect answers, soon.

If at the end his remarks were merely a political faux pas, then it was tantamount to a poor publicity stunt that served to divert attention and sympathy from the victims of the heinous attack to the presidential office.