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SBY Is Too Complicated

(published by The Jakarta Post on 26 Oct 2011. Click here)


So what are we waiting for in Cabinet reshuffle? After Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected President in 2004, he conducted a fit and proper test to select his ministers, then offered a work contract and integrity pact to be signed by the minister candidates.


It is not clear to the public what the actual contents of the work contract and integrity pact were. But no matter what they were, we are pretty sure those documents have been kept under the pillow. In the Cabinet reshuffle this time, SBY is doing the same.


Do the work contracts contain key performance indicators (KPI) as are normally included in professional work contracts? Considering the ministerial posts, which are so important that they affect a huge nation like Indonesia, can we imagine what the KPIs looked like? But it does not mean anything for common people because what people expect from the ministers basically is very simple.


People do not care whether or not the ministers sign work contracts and integrity pacts to show their commitment because people always think about very basic and essential things, for example from the agriculture minister: will food be affordable, eliminating rice imports, cheaper fertilizers for farmers? What people expect from the education minister includes can they send their children to quality but affordable schools, are the schools building in proper condition, and does the education curriculum stress out their children?


What people expect from the youth and sport minister: Can our beloved soccer team beat other national teams, become champion in international events such as the SEA Games or participate in the World Cup Finals.What people expect from the law and human rights minister: Simply that the truth be upheld in this country, corrupt judges and prosecutors sent to jail and human rights upheld. Similarly, what people expect from the religious minister: That Indonesia become a land of peace, where religious diversity is maintained in harmony and there is no more persecution against religious minorities.



I mean, what SBY has done in the minister selection process was too little, simply trying to create an impression or “gagah-gagahan” (just for show), but in reality the outcome is too far from the expectations as we can see obviously from the ministers’ performance.Thus, what is the point of doing due diligence if he fails to find quality ministers because he is too complicated and accommodating of parties for the sake of the stability of the coalition? We are seeing how the majority of his ministers selected from coalition parties are nonperformers, and some of them are implicated in corruption, but he appears reluctant to punish them.


All of my friends with whom I have spoken about the reshuffle say they don’t care, and many of them have expressed disappointment as we have seen that the President is not a leader.


A respected leader, former United States secretary of state Colin Powell said, “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through arguments, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand”.


***
Serpong, 18 Oct 2011
Titus J.
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