President Yudhoyono of Indonesia used his influence to protect corrupt politicians and spied on political rivals via his intelligence services according to leaked diplomatic cables.
Mr Yudhoyono’s wife Kristiani Herawati has also sought to profit financially from her husband’s position, US diplomats say in the cables leaked to the whistleblowers’ website WikiLeaks.
The claims, published by Australian media, will cast a shadow over the premiership of Mr Yudhoyono, whose election victory in 2004 was hailed as the start of a new era of reform.
Mr Yudhoyono became the country’s first directly elected leader largely on a campaign to root out entrenched corruption and nepotism following the 32-year dictatorship of General Suharto.
He was easily re-elected in 2009 but although he has been widely credited with bringing political stability and economic reforms to the world’s largest Muslim nation, many problems remain.
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Corruption is widespread, millions of people live in poverty and Mr Yudhoyono has faced accusations that he has done nothing to prevent the resurgence of militant Islam.
According to the cables, early on in his presidency, he intervened to save Taufik Kiemas, the husband of his predecessor, Megawati Sukarnoputri, from being prosecuted for what US diplomats described as “legendary corruption during his wife’s tenure”
At the same time his own vice-president, Jusuf Kalla, allegedly paid what the US Embassy described as “enormous bribes” to win the chairmanship of Golkar, Indonesia’s largest political party in December 2004.
“According to multiple sources close to the major candidates, Kalla’s team offered district [Golkar] boards at least 200 million rupiah for their votes,” the embassy reported in cables published in the Fairfax newspapers today.
They also claim that the President used the Indonesian State intelligence Agency (BIN) to spy on political allies and rivals alike.
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Diplomats also showed concern for the actions of the first lady who, the embassy warns, is a “cabinet of one” and “the President’s undisputed top adviser.”
They repeated allegaitons from a presidential aide that Ms Yudhoyono’s family were “targeting financial opportunites related to state-owned enterprises.”
They say the President was “witting of these efforts, which his closest operators advanced while Mr Yudhoyono himself maintained sufficient distance that he could not be implicated.”
Most worryingly, perhaps, for Mr Yudhoyono is the US embassy’s conclusion, in January last year, that with his popularity on the downturn after a series of corruption scandals, he and his Government were increasingly “paralysed.”
The Indonesian Government has denied the clams. The Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, told a news conference today that the claims “had no foundation in fact.”