First, he wanted to turn water into fuel. As it progressed, the project generated more ridicule than electricity through its dubious processes invented by a mysterious, if not fake, inventor. Then, he promoted a newly-developed high-productivity rice plant dubbed Supertoy, a variety that can be harvested multiple times without replanting. It is now revealed to be another hoax. Next time we see him in the news, he'll be turning water into wine or send a feast down from the sky.
Who is this certain "he" are we talking about? Boy, I don't expect him to be a government big shot, let alone be a president. He'd be one ridiculous president, if you ask me. So, once again, who is this "he"?
It hurts me to say this (believe me, I'm crying on the inside), but the "he" is our very own President of the Republic of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. I think he totally beat the paranormal out of those creepy "reg weton" and "reg primbon" guys. He's only another step away from claiming himself to be a prophet sent down to fix this nation and clean my room. Seriously, I don't get it how he could simply fall into the same hole twice. Is he trying to get an instant popularity boost before the election or is he just plain gullible?
So, Mister Miracle Worker here quickly denied any link to the project-turned-hoax, but what can he do? The media has been feeding on this story like crazy and now, everybody knows that the Supertoy is indeed a toy. In affected area Purworejo, enraged farmers burned their unproducing fields, fueling further media circus. Panicky SBY camp tried to clear up the mess, saying that the prez was only fulfilling an invitation to promote the toy. They blamed the company that developed the rice variety for not conducting thorough tests and also for cutting so many corners to release the seeds. "Coincidentally" (mind the quotes), the company is led by none other than Heru Lelono, the presidential staff who also goaded SBY into the Blue Energy fiasco. Anyway, the die is cast and now everybody openly questions the professionalism of RI-1.
Aaargh, I don't know where to start or what to write! This is so stupid on so many levels. SBY was duped by his own staff member into shameful schemes, twice, as if once is not enough. There are allegations that Mr. HL was involved in the hoax with a big neon sign saying "nepotism": previously, he was already close to SBY from some sorta organization. He should take the responsibility to somehow clean up this mess, but you can see that Heru is still here, safe and sound. Oh please, how can you pull a presidential prank twice and get away with it?
Then, how could the company release the rice seeds before its being certified by the Ministry of Agriculture? News sources said that the new variety hasn't been properly tested, although there are strict rules and a long road before a rice variety can be used for commercial purposes. I guess it is not so wrong to say that there must've been some "play" in the process. Presidential play much? I'm not so surprised.
Next, how can he not know about what he's promoting? His being a president is reason enough to be extra careful in endorsing anything, especially before facing an election. He made the mistake once when endorsing the Blue Energy, now he's more than glad to repeat it. Ugh, he could've simply waved his hand and his aides will happily research into the Supertoy. Maybe he wouldn't have to deal with all this brouhaha had he done his tiny bit of homework...
And he wants to run for president again next year? Blurgh. I hope he will at least think twice before choosing to promote his next solution-to-all-life's-problems rather than to watch Rihanna's latest video. Come on, everybody knows that Disturbia is much better than hectares of empty rice plants. (Well, duh!)
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