Yudhoyono’s popularity drops over Century case

In an alarming sign for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, two recent surveys have just confirmed his declining popularity.

The surveys suggest the causes include the alleged framing of two deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, and, most recently, the Bank Century bailout case.

Although there is no proof the President’s is involved in either case, widespread rumors to the contrary have reduced his popularity, the surveys said.

Officials from polling body Indobarometer said in a press conference over the weekend that public satisfaction over Yudhoyono’s performance in the first 100 days of his second term declined by 15 percent compared to when he had just won re-election.

Indobarometer executive director Muhammad Qodari said the result of the body’s recent survey, conducted between Jan. 8 and 18 and involving 1,200 respondents, showed the President’s public approval rating had dropped from 90 percent in August 2009 to the current 75 percent.

“The 15 percent decrease means there are public needs that the government is not addressing. This is an early indicator for the President to improve the government’s future performance,” Qodari said.

He further elaborated that the declining approval level was strongly related to ongoing legal and political issues.

Qodari said most of the respondents followed the cases of Bibit and Chandra, the alleged murder of the director of a state-owned firm by former KPK chief Antasari Azhar, and the Bank Century bailout case.

He said 69 percent, 79 percent, and 77 percent of the respondents knew about the three cases, respectively.

Another survey, conducted by Kompas daily and published in its Saturday edition, showed a similar trend.

Dividing the President’s public approval rating into four major sectors, Kompas said only 45 percent of the 1,249 respondents felt satisfied with Yudhoyono’s economic performance compared with 63 percent three months earlier.

Only 43 percent expressed satisfaction with his performance on law enforcement issues, 58 percent for his handling of political and security affairs, and 47 percent for welfare matters.

All the figures are a decrease from three months ago, and a larger drop from the President’s rating at the start of his first term in January 2005.

Kompas also found that the public’s confidence in the President’s performance in the four sectors experienced a declining trend compared with the figures three months ago and in early 2005.

The President’s drop in popularity, however, is mild compared with that of his subordinates, Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

The two have been under intense public scrutiny since the emergence of the Bank Century bailout case, which is centered on the ballooning of bailout funds, totaling Rp 6.76 trillion (US$730 million).

Many see Boediono, then the central bank governor, and Mulyani as responsible for approving the issuing of the funds, some of which are suspected to have been channeled to certain political parties, including Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party.

Qodari said only 18 percent expressed approval for Boediono, but did not mention Mulyani’s rating.

Public policy analyst Agus Pambagyo was quoted as saying by news portal tempointeraktif.com that to restore public trust, it was important for the President to evaluate the implementation of his first 100-days programs.

Source :

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/01/25/yudhoyono’s-popularity-drops-over-century-case.html

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President backs controversial school exams

Despite his earlier request for a review, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appears to have thrown his weight behind his subordinate’s decision to retain the controversial final national school exams.

National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh said after a Cabinet meeting with the President on education and health issues, that the government would continue to hold the exams this year, regardless of lingering controversy and the Supreme Court order for the government to first improve the quality of education across the country.

“The national exams are part of our evaluation system, which is part of the studying and teaching process. It is a method [to evaluate], and there are always pluses and minuses in a method,” Nuh told a press conference at the Presidential Office.

“However, at the moment, and with various considerations, the [national exams] is the most appropriate means of assessment. The exams have more positive aspects than negative ones.”

Earlier, while opening the three-hour Cabinet meeting, Yudhoyono expressed concern over the implementation of the exams, which have been plagued with controversy for many years.

Students across the country have come to dread the national exams because the assessment determines their eligibility to graduate from elementary and secondary schools, yet it has seen increasingly difficult passing standards applied equally across the country, regardless of the disparities in education quality among regions.

In his opening speech, Yudhoyono offered two options to improve the public acceptance of the exams; first by allowing failing students to take remedial exams, and second by reviving the Ebtanas system that was used in the 1990s.

“I believe that the UN shouldn’t be the only tool to measure [students’ eligibility to graduate]. It should be combined with other assesments,” he said.

Nuh said that in the 1990s, teachers measured students’ abilities using a system combining results of the school’s own exams and the national-level exams, called Ebtanas.

Earlier, Nuh said, a student’s eligibility for graduation was determined simply by tests schools organized themselves.

Now, students’ eligibility is determined by four factors, and not solely by the national exams — as many may believe.

“First, they have to have finished the school’s education programs. Second, they have to generally
show good morals. Third, they have to pass exams organized by their own school. Fourth, they have to pass the national exams,” the minister said.

He added that there should be no more concerns regarding the exam because his ministry had adopted what the President suggested in his first suggestion, i.e. to allow failing students to take a remedial exam one month after the original exam.

Nuh said the current national exams were the best system, because it could simultaneously help the government map the quality of education in each region.

“So we can improve the quality of teachers and upgrade education facilities in worse-performing regions,” he said.

Nuh denied that the government was defying the September 2009 Supreme Court ruling in favor of a civil lawsuit rejecting the national exams.

He said that despite media reports, the court did not order the government to scrap the exams, but to improve the quality of education in regions to make them better prepared for the exams.

“And that’s what we’ve been working on over the past few years,” Nuh said.

Source :

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/01/08/president-backs-controversial-school-exams.html

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Cabinet’s performance ‘under threat from conflict’

The scandal threatening to bring down Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati for their roles in bailing out Bank Century is indicative of the rift forming within the Cabinet, analysts said Sunday.

Mulyani has accused Golkar Party chairman and former chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie of being behind the calls for her to be axed over the Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million) bailout.

Speculation is rife that the rift was created by political parties eyeing the vice presidency and finance portfolio for their own members.

Political expert Bima Arya Sugiarto, from the consultancy Magna Charta, said the conflict had impacted on the Cabinet’s performance, but did not elaborate on what that meant.

“The whole investigation into the Century bailout should be organized on a proper schedule,” he said.

He added President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, as the coalition leader, should immediately re-evaluate the alliance in order to tackle “future political catastrophes”.

“The party should initiate a review of each coalition partner so as to give more room to those wiling to work for the nation,” he said.

Bima warned that the rift, if not properly handled, could lead to a further deterioration in the Cabinet’s performance.

“It could turn into a serious problem for the administration,” he said.

The University of Indonesia’s Maswadi Rauf agreed the present dispute had affected the Cabinet.

However, coalition party officials have denied any rift forming between them, insisting the current political turbulence has had no effect whatsoever on the government’s performance, and pointing out that, on the contrary, the government is working at its optimum level.

“There’s no such political fracture within the Cabinet,” Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said Sunday as quoted by news portal detik.com.

“Matter of fact, we’re coordinating and performing at our best in providing assistance to the
President.”

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, also from the PAN, said he too was working at peak performance of late.

“The speculation about the Cabinet’s inability to work is just a rumor,” he said as quoted by detik.com.

“Any talk of a rift is baseless. I hope the public isn’t wasting its time entertaining such rumors.”

Also denying there was any rift in the Cabinet were Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad, both from the Golkar Party.

Golkar and the PAN are both members of the coalition led by the Democratic Party.

Democratic Party legislator Ruhut Sitompul also said there was nothing amiss.

However, he said any rough patch that did crop up from the Century case would pose a challenge for the government, particularly if not handled correctly.

“We’re now dealing with the Century case by summoning for questioning those involved in the contentious bailout,” he said.

“To date, I’ve seen nothing that could harm the current government’s performance.”

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/12/14/cabinet%E2%80%99s-performance-%E2%80%98under-threat-conflict%E2%80%99.html