Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono probably didn't expect that his first real encounter with the House of Representatives would be over a remote matter like the UN resolution on the Iranian nuclear issue.
The House, smelling an opportunity to capitalize on Muslims' negative sentiments over Indonesia's support for UN resolution 1747, which imposed tougher sanctions on Iran in March, used its first interpellation right since Yudhoyono come into office to summon the President to explain the country's vote for a resolution.
They provocatively accused the government of having betrayed the Muslim community here by following the U.S. policy on Iran, without listening to domestic aspirations.
With the 2009 Presidential election approaching, Yudhoyono took the interpellation issue very seriously; according to the constitution, if the majority of the House rejected his explanation it could lead to an impeachment process.
Refusing to attend himself, he sent five ministers, including Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo AS and Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, to offer House members his explanation.
The House members were disappointed and insisted on the President's presence. In an effort to persuade House members to drop their demands, Yudhoyono invited the institution's leading figures to the Presidential Palace and agreed subsequently to come to the House for an informal discussion on the matter.
Although the issue died down -- as the House sensed a lack of public support over the interpellation -- the feud grabbed media headlines for weeks, and, according to many analysts and lawmakers, exposed the President's weakness vis a vis the House.
"This is just a trial and prelude for another issue, like the Lapindo mudflow disaster. We're satisfied with the results. It's good that foreign issues can be used as a new strong bullet against the government," a lawmaker said at the height of the tension.
Another issue that underlined the link between foreign policy and domestic public opinion was the unexpected wide rejection of the Indonesia-Singapore defense agreement, which was concluded after years of tiring negotiations.
Badly wanting to secure an extradition treaty with Singapore to net people fleeing the country with state money, Yudhoyono tied up the extradition deal with the defense agreement. Both countries signed both agreements in Bali in April.
But what was supposed to be a diplomatic victory for Yudhoyono -- as Presidents before him failed to secure the agreement -- and a lift for domestic approval, turned out to be a domestic joke.
For weeks, the media and lawmakers criticized the defense agreement for giving Singapore too much and compromising the country's sovereignty. This time, the public gave its support to their representatives, with a recent survey by the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) revealing that some 60 percent of Indonesians were against the ratification of the defense and extradition agreements with Singapore.
The government finally backed down, with a decision to freeze indefinitely the talks on both pacts.
Subsequently, Indonesia's role in Iraq and the Middle East as well as bilateral relations with Malaysia and Australia became prominent in the media and public as a whole.
A series of bilateral incidents involving Malaysia -- from abuse toward Indonesian maids and an attack on one the country's Karate referees to Malaysia's claim on Indonesia's cultural heritage, such as Batik and traditional songs -- also drew public attention. Many people, for instance, even went so far as to demand the government break diplomatic relations with the neighboring country.
"Never before have we experienced such wide public involvement in determining a foreign policy decision as we experienced in 2007. Now, people scrutinize almost every foreign policy decision made by the government," international relations expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Bantarto Bandoro, told The Jakarta Post.
He said the phenomenon indicated foreign policy did not merely belong to the diplomats at the foreign ministry, as members of the public seemed to be more aware that any foreign decision had certain impacts on them, and hence, wanted a stake in the decision-making process.
"This is a positive trend as there is certain public control now over foreign policy," Bantarto added.
Head of House Commission I on defense, security and foreign affairs Theo Sambuaga agreed that 2007 saw a surge in public awareness and attention toward foreign issues from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), think-tank groups and the public as a whole.
"We should aim to strengthen this positive trend. But we can only do this through sound reasoning and public support as we're also afraid it could backfire," he told the Post.
With such heightened awareness among domestic constituents, the government should consult with the public, especially on heavily political issues, to be able to obtain solid domestic support and avoid resistance, Theo said.
Bantarto concurred, warning the government to be careful in making decisions, as all eyes would be watching.
"Foreign policy now offers more opportunities for the government to boost its domestic standing because the public, with increased awareness, is likely to appreciate sound and successful diplomacy rather than buy statements from lawmakers or NGOs," he said.
Both Theo and Bantarto agreed that Indonesia's successes -- for example, with the recent UN climate conference in Bali, where some 190 countries came to a consensus, known as Bali Roadmap -- could boost public support for Yudhoyono in the 2009 election as well as secure Hassan's place in Indonesian diplomacy.
