Government denies Cabinet reshuffle<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The present Cabinet remains intact and there is
\nno immediate plan for a shake-up, acting State Secretary Bondan
\nGunawan said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Bondan said after a meeting with President Abdurrahman Wahid
\nthat the Cabinet's teamwork was solid enough to function well as
\nthe President's assistants.<\/p>\n
\"The President feels that the ministers are helpful. He just
\nwants them to be more serious,\" Bondan said.<\/p>\n
His statement came hours before Abdurrahman departed for South
\nAfrica, marking the start of a nine-day overseas trip.<\/p>\n
Bondan acknowledged that the President had reprimanded his
\nministers, especially the economic ministers, for their lack of
\ncoordination in implementing reform programs Indonesia had
\ncommitted to under a loan agreement with the International
\nMonetary Fund (IMF), but said this did not mean that President
\nAbdurrahman was dissatisfied with the ministers' performance.<\/p>\n
In a Cabinet meeting on Thursday last week, the President
\nbanned ministers from overseas trips until they were able to
\nresolve the pressing problem with the IMF.<\/p>\n
Following his reprimand, pressure mounted on Abdurrahman to
\nreplace his economic ministers.<\/p>\n
Mochtar Pabottingi and Dewi Fortuna Anwar, both from the
\nNational Institute of Sciences (LIPI), were the latest to support
\na Cabinet shake-up. The two proposed changes to Abdurrahman's
\nsix-month-old Cabinet for its failure to improve political and
\neconomic conditions and to uphold the rule of law.<\/p>\n
But House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung opposed
\nany plan to reshuffle the Cabinet. Akbar said on Saturday that it
\nwas unnecessary for the President to make any changes to the
\nCabinet as it would raise new problems.<\/p>\n
\"The most important things to be done by the President right
\nnow are to strengthen coordination among his aides, create a
\nconducive atmosphere at home, calm the political situation and
\nenforce the law,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rumors of a Cabinet reshuffle have been rife over the past few
\ndays. On Wednesday, a former House of Representatives legislator,
\nIchsanuddin Noorsy, who went to Bina Graha presidential office,
\nand chairman of the National Business Development Council Sofjan
\nWanandi hinted that a reshuffle was underway.<\/p>\n
Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak had earlier brushed
\naside the rumors.<\/p>\n
After South Africa, Abdurrahman's five-nation tour will also
\ntake him to Cuba, Mexico and Hong Kong, with a brief stopover in
\nJapan.<\/p>\n
Among the state officials who saw him off were Vice President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri and Indonesian Military Commander Adm.
\nWidodo A.S.<\/p>\n
The Garuda aircraft carrying Abdurrahman and his 80-member
\nentourage took off from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East
\nJakarta in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman is scheduled to meet South African President Thabo
\nMbeki in the South African administrative capital of Pretoria on
\nSunday to talk about the feasibility of setting up a South
\nAfrican-style truth and reconciliation commission in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
A planned meeting with South African leader Nelson Mandela is
\nunlikely because the former president is overseas.<\/p>\n
The President will leave South Africa on April 11 for Cancun,
\nMexico, and will travel to Havana to attend the Group of 77
\ndeveloping nations summit and meet Cuban President Fidel Castro.<\/p>\n
Before returning to Indonesia, Abdurrahman is scheduled to
\nmake a stopover in Tokyo to call on ailing former Japanese prime
\nminister Keizo Obuchi, and his successor Yoshiro Mori.
\n(jun\/rms\/byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-denies-cabinet-reshuffle-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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