Disasters Dent for SBY's Popularity: Indonesia

It is always the main man that gets the rough end of the pineapple when the proverbial hits the fan after his government fails to act immediately or near enough to it when a disaster occurs in the country. This happens the world over.

Since the president of Indonesia SBY has been sitting in the ivory tower there have been a few disasters throughout the archipelago causing his popularity to wain because of his inaction in times of crisis. A recent opinion poll has shown that the stream of disasters to hit Indonesia since 2004 is hurting the president's popularity with many seeing the calamities as a sign mystical powers are angry with him.

"The public are beginning to interpret the disasters in a mystical, irrational and spiritual way This belief is slowly beginning to be taken up by the majority and will hurt Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election chances in 2009." said Denny J.A. the director of the respected Indonesian Survey Institute.

The poll surveyed 400 randomly chosen people in areas of Java island hit by the May 27th earthquake in the weeks following the disaster. It had a margin of error of around 4.8 percent, the institute said.

Since Yudhoyono took office in 2004, Indonesia has been hit by three tsunami's including the Asian 2004 killer wave, two earthquakes, a major volcanic eruption, dozens of floods and landslides as well as a jetliner crash and several boats sinking.

The poor guy can't win a trick!.

The poll showed that 78 percent of people thought the disasters were nature's warning to Indonesia as whole, while 52.5 percent saw them as a "warning or a sign of nature's anger at the leader or the government of Indonesia."

Mysticism runs strong through Indonesia's 220 million people Java is home to almost half the population and mystic beliefs there are especially strong.