The Indonesian people have made their choice of their president. They want a new face. But do they want a new approach and plan for the next five years? It’s hard to conclude that from the result of the election. After all, both Mr. Susilo, the newly elected president, and Mrs. Megawati, the one he defeated, do not have much different on their economic, politic and social development plans. Both are more of the same: not clear.

But what’s so striking of the election is the result itself. No, not because the voters chose a general over a household mother; not because the voters chose the assistant over the boss (Susilo was one of Megawati’s ministers); and not because the voters preferred a gentleman over a lady. It is about the election’s results in terms of numbers. Susilo got 21 percent votes more than what Megawati managed to obtain. With a total about 110 millions of voters, this is a gap of around 26 millions of votes! It is absolutely striking. Even Suharto, at the peak of his reign, only “managed” to get about 73% of the votes. Golkar, Suharto’s party, got 73.16% in the 1982 elections.

One can theorize that frauds may have been committed in the election. While it may be true, it’s really hard to believe that it will change the final result. This is not like a US electoral system where a single vote can change the result of the election substantially. Those who don’t believe or understand it can recall the Florida’s debacle in 2000. But Indonesia has a popular election. Even if there were frauds, it might only affect a small portion of the 26 million votes, say at the maximum of 30%. Still, even with that rate, Susilo will win with a gap of at least 10 million votes.

At the gap magnitude of 26 million votes, frauds can only change the final result if Indonesia were in a total mess. Certainly, while bombs were exploded in Jakarta a few days prior to the election, the country is far from messy. The case for fraud may work if the results were just the opposite and Indonesia were controlled by a quasi-totalitarian regime. Again, both cases are groundless.

This brings us to believe that majority of Indonesian people have given their trust on Susilo. It is now entirely up to Mr. Susilo, the president, to treat the trust. Will he consider it as something to respect and uphold or just something to disrespect? Thus far, Mr. Susilo has shown respect for the public and he is rightly so given the fact that Indonesian people are getting smarter and more aware of their right. The direct election system is one of the underlying factors. Once their trust is betrayed, it’s not a difficult matter for them to punch a hole on a different name in 2009. 

The public’s trust is not a blank check. Along with it comes power and responsibility. The public voted for Susilo because they trust that he will commit to his responsibilities of building a better Indonesia within the next five years, and so they gave him the power to carry out the responsibilities.

However, there is a fine line between the power to conduct responsibility and the power to control others. Dictators certainly love the latter, while a true leader walk in the spirit of the former. Al Capone, the notorious mafia boss of Chicago in 1930s, once said, “You can get much father with a kind word and a gun, than you can with a kind word alone.” The greatest anxiety of many people about Mr. Susilo is his military background. Will he “put” a gun under his table while nicely persuading others to achieve his goal?

Almost anyone can use power, but it takes skill to use leadership. Leadership power is much more than the use of force. It is influencing others to truly want to achieve a goal. Plain power forces others to achieve a goal.

Achieving his goals—building a better Indonesia—must be Susilo’s foremost agenda. While he may personally have the best ideas to realize them, the fact shows that a free market of ideas is the best course to select the finest ideas. And the free market of ideas can only be achieved if public discourses on public policy are allowed to develop freely and the media are not suppressed.

So, congratulations Mr. President, we hope you lead the nation in the next five years with a true leadership.