Yudhoyono promises reforms for Indonesia By Jane Perlez The New York Times Thursday, October 21, 2004
JAKARTA Former General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was inaugurated on Wednesday as the first directly elected president of Indonesia, and in a businesslike address soon afterward promised a new era of cleaner government and renewed growth for Southeast Asia's largest economy. . "Indonesia will be a democratic country, open, modern pluralistic and tolerant," he said from a podium placed in the glistening halls at the presidential palace. "We will try hard to form a clean and good government." . A soldier with two stints at American staff colleges and substantial experience in government, Yudhoyono is widely considered to be Indonesia's first professionally qualified president in the six years since the fall of Suharto. . Simply by speaking live from the palace with his vice president, Jusuf Kalla, standing beside him, Yudhoyono, 55, set a markedly different tone from that of his predecessor, Megawati Sukarnoputri, whom he defeated in a landslide last month. . Immediately after he finished speaking, the new presidential spokesman, Andi Mallarangeng, stepped up to the microphones to add spin to Yudhoyono's words, another more contemporary look to the Indonesian presidency. . The elevation of Yudhoyono, who was little known as a serious political contender until earlier this year, has been acclaimed in the West and in some parts of the Muslim world as an example of the compatibility of democracy and Islam. . Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country. A Muslim leader held a copy of the Koran over Yudhoyono's head as he took the oath. . In his speech Wednesday afternoon, Yudhoyono said the government would soon "stimulate the economy" and would "increase productivity," though he provided no details. He will personally lead the fight against corruption, he said. . Three major terror attacks in the last two years by a homegrown extremist Islamic group, Jemaah Islamiyah, have made ordinary Indonesians more concerned about security than ever before, and Yudhoyono appealed for people to "work together" with the government on the problem. . In an attempt to calm soaring expectations from a population weary of deep corruption and falling living standards, Yudhoyono said, "I remind you, not all the country's problems can be solved in 100 days." . Leaders of neighboring countries - Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Australia and East Timor - attended the swearing-in, an unusual show of solidarity and a sign of the hope for an upbeat future. In the past, foreign leaders have not attended Indonesian presidential inaugurations. . The U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, Ralph Boyce, said that Yudhoyono could restore Indonesia, a nation rich in resources with a population of 220 million, to its rightful place as a leader in the region. . "He has a golden opportunity to send Indonesia into a dramatic new direction," Boyce said. "Before the economic collapse and the fall of Suharto, Indonesia was the acknowledged leader of Asean." Asean is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. . For all the good will, Yudhoyono was immediately embroiled in disputes over the makeup of his cabinet. . The new president had been expected to make the announcements on Wednesday night, but instead aides said he would unveil his cabinet Thursday. . Whether Yudhoyono can stick to his guns and choose market-oriented professionals for the big economic posts will be seen as the first and most important sign of whether he can get over his reputation for indecisiveness. . Yudhoyono had signaled that he would choose Sri Mulyani as minister of finance. The director in Washington for the Asia-Pacific Region portfolio at the International Monetary Fund, Mulyani is considered a first-class economist. . But a group of smaller parties, including an Islamic party that gave Yudhoyono crucial support in the election campaign, strongly protested the choice of what it called "pro-IMF" figures. In the last several days, new names have surfaced for the top economic posts, including Rizal Ramli, who has championed anti-IMF and anti-World Bank policies. . "Susilo bends under pressure" read a headline Tuesday in the English-language Jakarta Post. . The critical decision on attorney general - the person who would lead the announced campaign against corruption - also seemed up in the air. . A favorite among Western embassies looking for a stronger investment climate with the rule of law is Marsillam Simajuntak, a tough and respected lawyer. Some political analysts said that they saw a "litmus test" for Yudhoyono in the choice for attorney general and that he would pass it if he chose Marsillam. . One of the heartening signs was Yudhoyono's effort to strengthen the institution of the presidency, which has often been a fairly slipshod, poorly organized affair. . He has a chosen a group of young aides who are free from the old-style clubby Jakarta politics to head what is being called a West Wing' of the presidential palace. . Loosely modeled after the cadre of presidential assistants who operate in the West Wing of the White House in the United States, the new group of advisers includes specialists in the media, foreign affairs and the economy. . The economic adviser, Chatib Basrie, holds a master's degree in economics and a doctorate from the Australian National University in Canberra. His professor, Hal Hill, described Basrie as "very able intellectually, and a very broad networker," with contacts in the business, cultural and intellectual communities. . His thesis on why some Indonesian industries have protection from the government and others do not combined Basrie's two strengths, Hill said. . "He is a well-trained economist who is very interested in politics," Hill said. . Another adviser, Dino Pati Djalal, the son of an Indonesian diplomat, attended school in the United States and has been the chief diplomat dealing with the United States at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. . Even before his speech to the nation Wednesday afternoon, Yudhoyono made it clear that he would reach out to the people in a new way. On Tuesday, he held a teleconference with public audiences in a number of major cities, an unheard of approach in Indonesia. . The editor in chief of The Jakarta Post, Endy Bayuni, said that Yudhoyono was the first "media savvy" president the nation had known. Bayuni said he had demonstrated that by telling a group of editors in a background session recently that he was not indecisive at all. 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