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JAKARTA
POST, 07 Juli 2013
“It is nonsense to relate the price of pork with the
upcoming Ramadhan fasting month,” a middle-aged housewife said, staring at a
butcher when he insisted that the price of pork had increased by 20 percent due
to the Muslim fasting month and the recent fuel-price hike.
The conversation took place on Saturday morning at a traditional market in East Jakarta.
“After the fuel-price hike, I had to raise the prices,” said the butcher.
The prices of chili, rice and chicken rose significantly after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono eventually gained enough courage to increase fuel prices by nearly 50 percent last month.
Voices of grumbling housewives were heard in nearly all corners of the market.
A newspaper boy called out to the woman, “You want to know who the top presidential candidates are for next year? Find them here.”
The woman sank deeper into her resentment.
“I don’t care about your presidential candidates,” she retorted, suddenly bursting into laughter after the boy broadly smiled at her.
Tens of millions of Indonesians are now facing Ramadhan. Millions of them have to allocate money for their children’s education at all levels, from kindergarten to university. Then next month, Idul Fitri is coming.
The economic burden will become much heavier because the fuel-price hike has also stimulated skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.
Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan may disagree with me on this but I have economists, technocrats and politicians behind me to scold the government’s poor timing in executing this policy.
Government officials like Finance Minister Chatib Basri have to defend the damaging results of the President’s super-slow decision on the energy policy. Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Agus Martowardojo has made it clear the central bank had to raise interest rates in the face of a sluggish rupiah.
The woman’s ignorance about the presidential candidates is a common attitude shared by many Indonesians. The presidential election is just one year away (July 9, 2014), while the legislative election will take place three months ahead of that.
People are tending to become even more indifferent as it has become evident that the previous election spawned numerous corrupt government officials, both at the central and regional level. And it is not only corruption that lured these officials; others among their ranks have been implicated in sex scandals.
Several public figures have expressed their intention to serve their country for the 2014-2019 presidential term. They are tycoon-cum-politician Aburizal Bakrie; former president Soeharto’s adjutant, Gen. (ret) Wiranto; his former son-in-law, Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto; media tycoon Surya Paloh, and Gita.
Those who have own their television stations, like Aburizal, Surya and Wiranto’s running-mate, Hary Tanoesoedibjo (owner of the MNC group), can appear on their channels anytime they like, despite that being a blatant misuse of their positions.
One of the few good things about this country is that anyone has the freedom without any fear to announce their candidacy to become Yudhoyono’s successor next year. No matter how absurd it may be, even Subur, a shaman who recently became a nationwide sensation after the revelation that he had hoodwinked many people and had nine wives, confidently announced his plan to join the race.
So far, not a single presidential aspirant has approached the public with a clear and detailed platform. All of them are just bombarding the people with the same message: “Insya Allah [God willing] I will be better than SBY”.
Perhaps, only the blindly devout will believe such a message these days. In the wake of the mass information era, it is getting harder to keep one’s dirty laundry under wraps.
One of the candidates appeared on his own TV channel, portraying himself as a good grandfather who loved children. I’m afraid I fail to see the connection between being a good grandfather and a good president.
Yudhoyono apparently is preparing his brother-in-law, Gen. (ret) Pramono Edhie Wibowo, as his Democratic Party candidate for the presidential election. People have little knowledge about him apart from the simple fact that the President’s wife, Ani Yudhoyono, loves her brother very much. A retired Army general will not necessarily be a strong, decisive leader. Yudhoyono himself is a retired general and decisiveness is definitely not one of his strong points.
One thing, however, is for sure: The law still does not allow an independent candidate to contest the presidential election. The next president has to come from a major political party or a coalition of several parties.
The presidential election is still a year away but here we are, being presented with figures with saccharine-sweet images that easily fade following serious research into each of the candidate’s track records. So far, we have only witnessed a smiling competition among the aspirants, rather than a bold persona delivering a clear vision on where the country should be heading.
What about Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo? Pollsters show that the former Surakarta mayor, who is moving at a snail’s pace on realizing his promises for Jakarta, is far ahead of other candidates like Prabowo. Jokowi’s popularity is a reflection of people’s frustration with the current leadership. Will he become the next president?
“I don’t care about your presidential candidates,” the woman said. Hopefully, she cooked well what she had bought in the market that Saturday morning. ●
The conversation took place on Saturday morning at a traditional market in East Jakarta.
“After the fuel-price hike, I had to raise the prices,” said the butcher.
The prices of chili, rice and chicken rose significantly after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono eventually gained enough courage to increase fuel prices by nearly 50 percent last month.
Voices of grumbling housewives were heard in nearly all corners of the market.
A newspaper boy called out to the woman, “You want to know who the top presidential candidates are for next year? Find them here.”
The woman sank deeper into her resentment.
“I don’t care about your presidential candidates,” she retorted, suddenly bursting into laughter after the boy broadly smiled at her.
Tens of millions of Indonesians are now facing Ramadhan. Millions of them have to allocate money for their children’s education at all levels, from kindergarten to university. Then next month, Idul Fitri is coming.
The economic burden will become much heavier because the fuel-price hike has also stimulated skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.
Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan may disagree with me on this but I have economists, technocrats and politicians behind me to scold the government’s poor timing in executing this policy.
Government officials like Finance Minister Chatib Basri have to defend the damaging results of the President’s super-slow decision on the energy policy. Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Agus Martowardojo has made it clear the central bank had to raise interest rates in the face of a sluggish rupiah.
The woman’s ignorance about the presidential candidates is a common attitude shared by many Indonesians. The presidential election is just one year away (July 9, 2014), while the legislative election will take place three months ahead of that.
People are tending to become even more indifferent as it has become evident that the previous election spawned numerous corrupt government officials, both at the central and regional level. And it is not only corruption that lured these officials; others among their ranks have been implicated in sex scandals.
Several public figures have expressed their intention to serve their country for the 2014-2019 presidential term. They are tycoon-cum-politician Aburizal Bakrie; former president Soeharto’s adjutant, Gen. (ret) Wiranto; his former son-in-law, Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto; media tycoon Surya Paloh, and Gita.
Those who have own their television stations, like Aburizal, Surya and Wiranto’s running-mate, Hary Tanoesoedibjo (owner of the MNC group), can appear on their channels anytime they like, despite that being a blatant misuse of their positions.
One of the few good things about this country is that anyone has the freedom without any fear to announce their candidacy to become Yudhoyono’s successor next year. No matter how absurd it may be, even Subur, a shaman who recently became a nationwide sensation after the revelation that he had hoodwinked many people and had nine wives, confidently announced his plan to join the race.
So far, not a single presidential aspirant has approached the public with a clear and detailed platform. All of them are just bombarding the people with the same message: “Insya Allah [God willing] I will be better than SBY”.
Perhaps, only the blindly devout will believe such a message these days. In the wake of the mass information era, it is getting harder to keep one’s dirty laundry under wraps.
One of the candidates appeared on his own TV channel, portraying himself as a good grandfather who loved children. I’m afraid I fail to see the connection between being a good grandfather and a good president.
Yudhoyono apparently is preparing his brother-in-law, Gen. (ret) Pramono Edhie Wibowo, as his Democratic Party candidate for the presidential election. People have little knowledge about him apart from the simple fact that the President’s wife, Ani Yudhoyono, loves her brother very much. A retired Army general will not necessarily be a strong, decisive leader. Yudhoyono himself is a retired general and decisiveness is definitely not one of his strong points.
One thing, however, is for sure: The law still does not allow an independent candidate to contest the presidential election. The next president has to come from a major political party or a coalition of several parties.
The presidential election is still a year away but here we are, being presented with figures with saccharine-sweet images that easily fade following serious research into each of the candidate’s track records. So far, we have only witnessed a smiling competition among the aspirants, rather than a bold persona delivering a clear vision on where the country should be heading.
What about Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo? Pollsters show that the former Surakarta mayor, who is moving at a snail’s pace on realizing his promises for Jakarta, is far ahead of other candidates like Prabowo. Jokowi’s popularity is a reflection of people’s frustration with the current leadership. Will he become the next president?
“I don’t care about your presidential candidates,” the woman said. Hopefully, she cooked well what she had bought in the market that Saturday morning. ●
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