September 27, 2004. Copyright, 2004, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Profile of IndonesiaÕs first directly elected president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, September 27, Graphic News:  That IndonesiaÕs first direct presidential election was itself an event bigger than any individual candidate was not lost on its eventual winner, retired general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who thanked the outgoing regime for establishing Òthis kind of democracyÓ.

After three decades of authoritarian rule and a troubled six-year transition period, it is not surprising that voters seized the chance to exercise their mandate. That they chose to eject incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri, once a hugely popular icon of reform, in favour of a political novice, is more telling.

SBY, as he is known, had been breathing down the presidentÕs neck ever since the two fell out publicly in March and he stepped down as her security minister. Bambang was cast as a victim of an increasingly unpopular regime, and he emerged as frontrunner to oust Megawati, daughter of IndonesiaÕs founder Sukarno, in the first round of presidential elections in July. At that time he did not win a clear majority.

Critics have tended to focus on BambangÕs political inexperience, but a brief look at his background indicates that his military credentials are not that impressive either. Born in 1949 in Java, SBY attended IndonesiaÕs academy and trained at army bases in the United States, but only attained his four-star general status in an honorary capacity when he left the army to join the government of General Wahid in 2000. There, he served as minister for security and political affairs before losing the job after a year.

In fact, SBYÕs years in the army coincided with a brutal period in Indonesian history. In 1975 its troops invaded East Timor, and Bambang was Chief of Territorial Affairs at the time of the territoryÕs violent transition to independence in 1999.

SBY has been called Òthe thinking generalÓ, which may not be entirely positive for a military man, and heÕs even been tagged the Òair conditioning generalÓ because of an alleged preference for meetings over action. But none of this appears to have hurt Bambang, who is routinely praised for his humane qualities in contrast to the ÒaloofÓ Megawati.

Where he has distinguished himself is in his firm leadership against terrorism in the wake of the Bali nightclub bombing in 2002. He has promised to crack down on Jemaah Islamiyah Ð the militant group linked to al-Qaeda that has been blamed for three atrocities in the region, including the Bali attack.

BambangÕs toughest test as leader of the worldÕs most populous Muslim country will be his handling of the countryÕs Islamic fringe. Bambang, a practising Muslim with a secular outlook, must tread a fine line between offending many countrymen who already see him as a lackey of the west, and beefing up security without falling into the same trap as predecessors who fell foul of human rights standards.

Further terrorist attacks could bring a declaration of war against the militants from Bambang, who is already under pressure to act decisively. Any such declaration could ultimately draw the armed forces into a vital security role and such a scenario might lead to Indonesia being ruled, yet again, by a ÒstrongmanÓ.

For now, however, Bambang is seen as a breath of fresh air who has only to make good on his promises, which include tackling rocketing unemployment, corruption and economic stagnation. It will not be easy: his new Democratic Party relies on a broad coalition of secular and moderate religious parties, and, as ever, the military is waiting in the wings.
/ENDS