JAKARTA, Oct 20: Indonesia's newly-elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took the oath of office on Wednesday, capping an intense election season that spanned six months and three separate ballots.

"I will carry out this task as good as possible and as just as possible," Yudhoyono said during the oath-taking. "I will firmly keep the country's constitution and carry out the laws and regulations."

The swearing in of the country's fifth president in the last six- and-a-half years went forward under heavy security.

Five heads of state attended the inauguration of Yudhoyono and vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla, including Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and East Timor Prime Minister Marie Alkatiri.

Yasuo Fukuda, a member of Japan's House of Representatives, attended as a special envoy of the Japanese emperor, ambassadors from other countries and hundreds of government officials and dignitaries also joined the ceremony, presided over by MPR chairman Hidayat nur Wahid.

Former president Megawati Sukarnoputri did not attend the ceremony. Megawati has faced heavy criticism in the media for her actions following her defeat in Indonesia's first direct presidential election on Sept 20, which went ahead peacefully and was widely considered a landmark step in the country's transition to democracy.-dpa