Ute Seela

The Indonesians get a little tired by their president it seems. Talking to people here in Jakarta – whether on religious tensions, Papua, corruption or poverty – one thing keeps popping up: SBY has lost a lot of credits in the country. And now it even seems that he considers it more important to boost his musical talents than do what he is supposed to do… The Jakarta Post brought a biting article yesterday criticizing how a president can spend his time recording songs when the country has piling problems. Supposedly Yudhoyono has composed a song – which will be the official music for the upcoming SEA Games – in September when the country was amidst spiraling sectarian conflict in Ambon, alleged corruption cases and severe infrastructure problems in preparation of the SEA Games. SBY is becoming a ‘figure of ridicule among his political rivals’ the paper says.