Clear rules needed to avoid defamation, Aburizal says<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post\/Busan, South Korea<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie supports
\nPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's plan to issue an instruction
\nthat will clearly forbid government officials from misusing their
\nauthority for business interests.<\/p>\n
Aburizal, himself a former business magnate, said here on
\nFriday that the instruction should be made transparent and clear
\nin order to prevent public misperceptions, which could eventually
\nlead to defamation.<\/p>\n
\"I will support the planned instruction as it will protect
\ngovernment officials, like myself, from becoming a victim of
\nslander by the mass media. The instruction should be clear, so
\nthe public understands,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Being under the spotlight in the past few months -- especially
\nwith Susilo receiving intense pressure to replace him due to what
\nsome commentators described as a poor performance -- Aburizal
\nmade the comment in response to the president's statement on
\nThursday. That statement was made during an unscheduled press
\nconference aboard his plane an hour before landing at a military
\nair base in Busan to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
\n(APEC) Assembly.<\/p>\n
Susilo expressed concerns over indications that several high-
\nranking government officials had been misusing their authority to
\nenrich their family, friends and colleagues by trying to secure
\ngovernment projects.<\/p>\n
Susilo dubbed these officials \"dual-function politicians\" who
\nare \"running their businesses at the expense of the state\". He
\nsaid the officials did not need to be directly involved in the
\nbusinesses, but could give access or leak information to their
\nrelatives or business partners.<\/p>\n
Although Aburizal officially retired from the family business,
\nunder the flagship of the Bakrie & Brothers Group, when appointed
\nas minister in October 2004, critics have remained skeptical
\nabout whether he actually refrains from all involvement.<\/p>\n
Other Cabinet members with business backgrounds include
\nMinister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa, Minister of Manpower
\nand Transmigration Fahmi Idris, State Minister of Cooperatives,
\nand Small and Medium Enterprises Surya Dharma Ali, State Minister
\nof State Enterprises Sugiharto and Minister of Forestry Malam
\nSambat Kaban.<\/p>\n
Aburizal added that the presidential instruction should also
\nspeak to the involvement of military officials, police officers
\nand lecturers, as they have similar opportunities to misuse their
\nauthority for their own interests.<\/p>\n
\"(A state official) who was formerly a businessman is similar
\nto soldiers, police and lecturers. The instruction should also
\ncover former professionals from these kinds of jobs,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, a source close to Susilo said the President had
\nconsulted with Vice President Jusuf Kalla before announcing the
\nplanned instruction in a bid to prevent conflict or public
\nmisperception.<\/p>\n
Aside from being the leader of the influential Golkar Party,
\nKalla is a former businessman, who headed up the Hadji Kalla
\nGroup and the Bukaka Group; both currently run by his relatives.<\/p>\n
\"Before leaving for Busan, Bapak (Susilo) spent around 40
\nminutes with the vice president at a lounge in Halim
\nPerdanakusuma airport honing the details of the instruction,\" the
\nsource said.<\/p>\n
The source said Susilo needed to discuss the issue with Kalla
\nas he wanted to steer clear of any misunderstanding or create
\nconfusion among the public, who might be misled into thinking
\nthat he was trying to attack certain members of his Cabinet.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/clear-rules-needed-to-avoid-defamation-aburizal-says-1447893297",
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