Indonesian president's job approval rate drops

Thu, 06 Jan 2011

Jakarta - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's job approval rating has dropped over perceived setbacks in his reform pledges, according to a survey released Thursday.

A nationwide poll of 2,200 people in December revealed that Yudhoyono's approval rating fell to 63 per cent from 70 per cent in January 2010, according to the Indonesian Survey Institute, a respected private pollster.

"The public perceived there have been setbacks in political and economic conditions as well as in law enforcement in 2010," the institute said.

Yudhoyono, a former general, reached the peak of popularity in July 2009, with an approval rating at 85 per cent. He won a second-five year term that year on promises to fight graft and boost the economy.

Critics have accused Yudhoyono's government of failing to improve the lot of the country's poorest despite rising economic growth and backpedaling on a pledge to root out corruption.

His supporters, however, have credited him with steering Indonesia to economic and political stability after years of turmoil.

Indonesia's economy is expected to grow 6 per cent in 2010.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360946,job-approval-rate-drops.html.