Roy Suryo...

Perhaps it is only fair to give the man his full title, Kanjeng Raden Mas Temenggung Roy Suryo Notodiprojo or KRMT Roy Suryo. After all, if you have a royal sounding title you have probably earned it. Roy Suryo, as he is known to his mates, is a self-proclaimed and self-taught expert on telematics. If you do not believe him, then you should just ask him.

The man is never short of a comment, and funnily enough is pretty regularly called in to pass expert commentary. Some of his better performances have been to equate bloggers and hackers as being one of the same. As a witness for the prosecution in the ongoing Prita Mulyasari dispute he offered up in his expert testimony, allegedly, that Prita intended to distribute the email because she sent it to all her friends, and did not CC or BCC the email. Therefore, this was sufficient to prove that the intent to defame had been made out.

He is close to the President, and has in fact speared the president and the president's party for large sums of cash to set up a website.

But, even more interesting is that this fellow is the master manipulator and promoter of an image, his own. So, the idea that he was seriously being considered for the position of Minister of Communication and Information should be taken with a grain of salt. It would have been a bad choice because he would have come to the position with a good number of Indonesian citizens questioning his expertise, his skills, and his ability to perform the role.

However, for his part, Roy Suryo contacted the press to let them know that he was OK with the president's choice not to appoint him to the ministerial role. Yet, at the same time as saying that he understood the president's choice, he was going on the offensive and after the person that is expected to get the nod for the ministerial slot, Tifatul Sembiring.

Sembiring has been outed as a polygamist. Although, polygamy is discouraged, it is not illegal. Provided that it is done in a manner that conforms to the prevailing laws and regulations then it is legal. Nevertheless, Roy took the opportunity to openly question whether Sembiring's polygamy would impact on his ability to do his job as the Minister of Communication and Information. I would have figured that communication and information would have had to be something that Sembiring was good at with two wives.

Seriously though, here is a fella that cannot distinguish between bloggers and hackers wondering out loud whether polygamy is going to be a hindrance to Sembiring in doing his job. Seems a little on the rich side for me.

It is worth noting that in all the high profile cases of late that Roy Suryo has appeared for the prosecution, there has been a vigorous defense put on highlighting the fact that Roy Suryo's standards as a telematic expert or in the field of digital forensic science are lacking. This is particular so in the case of Ananda Mikola and Marcella Zalianty.

I am not an expert on telematics or technology in a general sense. However, I would be concerned if I was an Indonesian and the idea of making this bloke the minister was in fact real. He really has not shown over the years to be up to the job.

That is not to say that Sembiring has shown himself to be up to the job either. But, his practice of polygamy is not a key indicator in his job performance or ability to do the job, is it?