Editorial: SBY abused power, seriously?

Editorial: SBY abused power, seriously?
The Jakarta Post | Sat, 03/12/2011 12:51 PM | Editorial
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Cool heads should prevail in reacting to Friday’s report in the Australian press with the screaming headline “Yudhoyono abused power”. No one wants a repeat of the time when Indonesia abruptly canceled flying rights of Australian planes in 1984 in response to a detailed report in a Sydney newspaper about how President Soeharto was amassing wealth. The stakes this time are actually much higher because they could affect relations between Indonesia and the United States.

Any report based on documents from WikiLeaks, the only source quoted in the report about President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, must be treated with caution. These are secret cables between the US embassy and Washington. Embassies all around the world do this routinely. Diplomats typically collect their information from various sources – from officials, politicians, informants, journalists and ordinary people. The information may be interesting, but is not necessarily always accurate.

Since WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of documents pertaining to US foreign policy, Washington has been at pains to contain the damage caused to relations with its friends and allies. Now, it’s Indonesia’s turn. By now, we assume the US embassy must know what to do to prevent relations from heading south. One can take comfort in the fact that relations are at their historic best and that they are strong enough to weather this sort of crisis.

President Yudhoyono is naturally upset by the Australian press reports and his office has already put out a statement questioning the credibility of the report and rebutting the allegations of abuse of power. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa was quick off the mark in calling for a news conference, stating that the press reports were baseless. He also held a meeting with US Ambassador Scot Marciel.

But even if we question the credibility of the report, any accusation of abuse of power must be looked at seriously. The report that former vice president Jusuf Kalla bought his way to the Golkar chairmanship was not new because it had been public knowledge that the post always went to the highest bidder. But other allegations, such as the president’s interference in corruption investigations and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono’s business dealings, should still be looked at by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The report already provides the name of one informant: A certain TB Silalahi. KPK should start with him.


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