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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President asks govt agencies to implement budgets promptly

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reminded all administrative authorities to implement their work programs in 2010 and not to postpone implementation of their budgets.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made the statement here on Tuesday when handing over a List of Approved Projects (DIPA) 2010 to ministries and departments as well as regional administrations.

All regulations on budget disbursement and policies on goods and services procurement were available, the head of state said.

Therefore, there was no excuse for postponing the implementation of budgets, he said.

The head of state presented the DIPAs from the 2010 State Budget at the State Palace at a ceremony attended by Vice President Boediono, all cabinet ministers and 33 provincial governors from across the country.

The government is expected to allocate funds from the 2010 State Budget amounting to Rp1,047.7 trillion or 15.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

The allocation of state budget funds for the central government is estimated at Rp725.2 trillion or 12.1 percent from the state budget, or up Rp79.8 trillion or 12.4 percent from Rp645.4 trillion in the 2009 state budget.

"The larger state budget should be spent as best as possible for the improvement of the people`s welfare," the president said.

Among government institutions and ministries receiving the largest amounts of DIPA funds totaling Rp340.1 trillion were the defense ministry (Rp42.3 trillion), the national education ministry (Rp55.2 trillion), the public works ministry (Rp34.8 trillion) , the religious affairs ministry (Rp27.2 trillion), the national police (Rp27.2 trillion) and the health ministry (Rp21.4 trillion). The transportation ministry (Rp15.8 trillion).

The president on the occasion presented DIPA funds to National Education Minister M Nuh for the 2010 budget for national education, and to Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati as the state`s general treasurer.

The 33 governors would also receive DIPA funds from President Yudhoyono for their 2010 regional budgets.(*)


Source :
http://www.antara.co.id/en/news/1262733478/president-asks-govt-agencies-to-implement-budgets-promptly
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The Wit and Wisdom of Gus Dur

Gus Dur was known for his way with words and his love of jokes. Some of his memorable quotes include: Suharto was a New Order president. Habibie was In Order and I am No Order. The deep problem is that people use religion wrongly in pursuit of victory and triumph. This sad fact then leads to conflict with people who have different beliefs. I was a forced politician, yes, but not a true politician..... in the sense that I never cared about public opinion, for example... No politician will do that. (laughs) You don’t realise that losing the presidency for me is nothing ... I regret more the fact that I lost 27 recordings of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. I am not worried about minorities dominating us. That is born from our own insecurities. Muslims – possibly due to historical factors – are often haunted by feelings of defeat and weakness. Democracy is not only not haram (forbidden) in Islam but is a compulsory element of Islam. Upholding democracy is one of the principals of Islam, which is syuro (assembly). There must no longer be anything to differentiate Indonesians based on religion, mother language, culture and ideology. If today there are people calling Islam bad names, we will teach them that Islam is peaceful. Why sweat it? (Gitu aja kok repot?) --Gus Dur frequently used this offhand remark to dismiss issues he considered unimportant. Seventy percent of our nation is saltwater, so why do we import salt? It’s okay being stupid but why are we purposely being ignorant? This is an ideal team. The president can't see and the vice president can't talk. --After becoming president alongside the famously taciturn Megawati Sukarnoputri I need help to step up, let alone to step down. --On being asked to resign If in the past I said that the House of Representatives was a kindergarten, now I say it is a playgroup.

http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/the-wit-and-wisdom-of-gus-dur/350114

World Community Express Post-Death Pain grief Gus Durgus dur

The death of former Indonesian president to four brought sorrow to the international world. In the social networking sites, Twitter and Facebook, dozens of the world community expressed their grief after the death of a man who often called Gus Dur is. One German citizen, Kennedy, in the account for twitternya convey testimoninya Gus Dur. "Gus Dur is more awesome than Chuck Norriss" he wrote in twitternya account.

Meanwhile, a Malaysian citizen, Deenazah, expressing a sense of loss over the death of Gus Dur. "Love Gus Dur's a lot! My deepest Condolence, "he wrote in facebooknya account.

Not only the people of the world, some Indonesian people living abroad are also soluble in an atmosphere of grief. One of them is Heryadi. In twitternya account, the man who lived in the United States was expressing his admiration for the thought Gus Dur.

"Is right," If in the past I said that the House of Representatives was a kindergarten, now I say it is a playgroup. " So long, Mister "wrote Heryadi in twitter account RIP" Gus Dur "

Until now twitter and facebook pages and hold dibanjuri expression of grief and loss over the death of Gus Dur. The expression of grief was almost touching the 10 thousand.

Indonesia mourns former president Wahid, dead at 69

Former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid died in hospital on Wednesday aged 69, after a long battle with illness, a party official said.

Wahid was Indonesia's fourth president, coming to power in 1999 after the country's first general elections following the fall of military strongman Suharto in 1998.

Popularly known as Gus Dur, he was practically blind, diabetic and had suffered strokes.

Doctor Aris Wibudi of Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta said Wahid died at 18:45 (1345 GMT) due to complications arising from diabetes and stroke.

His younger brother, Salahuddin Wahid, told AFP the family was "shocked, sad and grieving".

"He was humorous, happy, clever, brave and really cared about the community. He was full of life and his fighting spirit was strong. Even when he was sick, he would fight on," he said.

Wahid rose to political prominence through his role as a leader of one of the country's biggest mass Islamic movements, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), having been a strong critic of Suharto during the general's three-decade rule.

He defeated Megawati Sukarnoputri to scoop the presidency in a parliamentary vote, even though her Democratic Party of Struggle put in the strongest showing in a general election earlier in 1999.

His time in government was an exciting period of democratic change under the country's post-Suharto "Reformasi" drive, and Wahid was an enthusiastic advocate of ethnic and religious tolerance.

But there were also fears the unwieldy, Muslim-majority archipelago of 234 million people would crumble under the weight of separatist and sectarian conflicts in places like Aceh, Papua and the Malukus.

Violent Islamic extremism reared its head with the coordinated Christmas-eve bombings of churches in Jakarta and other cities in 2000, which killed 18 people and were blamed on regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah.

Wahid's response was to crack down on Islamist extremists while seeking dialogue and conciliation with ethnic separatists, the latter strategy putting him at odds both with the military and the Jakarta elite.

He also broke a taboo in Indonesian politics by calling for diplomatic relations with Israel, and backed the lifting of a Cold War-era ban on communism.

It was the liberal and democratic ideas that had earned him international respect that ironically were often at the core of the steady growth of opposition to his leadership.

A moderate religious scholar, Wahid was also criticised in office for his erratic leadership style and was sacked by the national assembly in 2001 amid unproven allegations of corruption and incompetence.

Hailing from a prominent Muslim family in Jombang, East Java, the father of four daughters held a degree in Arabic studies from Cairo University and another in literature from Baghdad University.

Despite his obvious ailments, Wahid remained active in public affairs until his death as a senior leader of the 40-million-strong NU.

NU vice-president Maskuri Abdillah said Wahid -- who studied English, German, Arabic, French and Russian -- would be remembered as a "pluralist" who stood for tolerance in the most populous Muslim-majority country.

"His death is a big loss not just to Nahdlatul Ulama, but also to Indonesians from all races and faiths," he told AFP.

"He was a humorous person who loved to crack jokes so people could feel at ease. He would always crack jokes at social events to reduce tension and people would warm up to him easily."

In September 2007 he announced that he would campaign for the presidency in 2009 if asked by the movement's top clerics -- whom he referred to as the "elders" -- but in the end he did not get the call.

Wahid's National Awakening Party won only 4.9 percent of the vote in general elections earlier this year, less than half its showing in 2004, but it remains strong in its East Java heartland.

Indonesia held its first direct presidential elections in 2004, which were won by the incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.