Editorial: Don’t Underestimate SBY’s First 100 Days

Jakarta Globe, Editorial, January 26, 2010

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, center, walking to a conference room at Bogor Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday. (Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to start working from day one when he was inaugurated in October last year. In his inauguration address, he laid out an ambitious array of programs that he said the government would tackle in his first 100 days.

So how has he fared in accomplishing what he set out to do? By and large the government has taken on the big issues such as land reform, infrastructure development, cutting bureaucratic red tape and boosting economic growth. Poverty reduction and job creation, however, will require sustained effort over a much longer period.

Notwithstanding the political theater that the investigation into the PT Bank Century bailout has become, the government has been focused on its objectives. It might be a stretch to say 100 percent of the 100-day program has been accomplished but it is indisputable that the president and his cabinet have made great headway.

On Tuesday, the president, who was accompanied by Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto and West Java Governor Ahmad Heriawan, pushed a button to activate a siren and then signed a plaque to officially open the biggest of 10 projects he inaugurated, the 35-kilometer long Kanci-Pejagan toll road, which cost Rp 2.45 trillion ($ 262 million).

During his first 100 days he also rang in several other projects, such as a flood control dam in Medan; the Amplas overpass, also in Medan; the Oerip Sumahardjo fly over in South Sulawesi; the Benel Dam in Bali; Cilaki Bridge in West Java; several water treatment facilities and affordable apartments for those on low incomes in West Java and Central Java, with a total value of Rp 3.5 trillion.

Infrastructure is the backbone of the economy and these new projects will go a long way towards boosting GDP growth and creating thousands of new jobs. As the president noted, the projects will help increase the quality of each region’s economy.

No doubt much work remains to be done and the government will have to redouble its efforts in the coming weeks, months and years. The president may have his critics but he is without doubt the best man Indonesia has at this time to take the country forward.

It is therefore critical that the president not allow his detractors in the House of Representatives to derail his programs. Yudhoyono must rise above the din and communicate directly with all stakeholders as he has done in the past few days.

The president still enjoys tremendous public support as evidenced by his high popularity ratings. It has slipped from the historic 90 percent he enjoyed immediately after the elections but the mandate he has gained from the Indonesian people gives him a unique opportunity to put the country on a sound footing.

He remains our best choice as president of Indonesia and also the people’s clear choice as the best man to lead this country.