Gus Dur pours cold water on Cabinet reshuffle rumors<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid belied expectations
\nof a Cabinet reshuffle, saying that he had not made any plans for
\none.<\/p>\n
\"Rumors that I will replace many of my ministers in the near
\nfuture are not true, because we have many problems and it
\n(reshuffle) will only create new ones,\" Abdurrahman said at a
\nseminar on Monday at the University of Indonesia campus in Depok,
\nsouth of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman said he had not considered making a major overhaul
\nof the Cabinet as he felt it was best for the government to
\nconcentrate more on solving the country's many problems.<\/p>\n
He further said he would consider other means than a Cabinet
\nreshuffle.<\/p>\n
It is unclear whether the statement was made to catch people
\noff guard as almost all top politicians have indicated an
\nimpending Cabinet reshuffle in August just after the General
\nSession of the People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
It is also unclear what the President perceives as a \"Cabinet
\nreshuffle\" in that it is thought he may regard it as a total
\nchange of the Cabinet lineup.<\/p>\n
His comments were in stark contrast to Vice President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, who, during a visit to Singapore on Monday,
\nexpressed hope that the reshuffle would not take place before the
\nGeneral Session of the Assembly, planned for the second week of
\nAugust.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists at her suite at the Shangri-La Hotel,
\nMegawati emphasized that it was fully the President's prerogative
\nto decide such matters, \"(but) of course, I assume that I will be
\ninvolved in that matter\".<\/p>\n
Megawati, who arrived for a three-day visit on Sunday, also
\nwarned Indonesian political elites not to politicize the August
\nGeneral Session to unsettle the government, stressing that the
\npurpose of the session is only to obtain the government's
\nprogress report.<\/p>\n
Megawati underwent a general checkup on Monday morning at Mt.
\nElizabeth Hospital. She said she was satisfied with her health.<\/p>\n
She met with Singapore President S.R. Nathan, Prime Minister
\nGoh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
\"You have a nice dress,\" Tong said when he first met with
\nMegawati.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Jakarta, senior political figures also commented
\non the likelihood of a reshuffle.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Research and Technology A.S. Hikam said in a
\ndiscussion at The Jakarta Post office that the President had not
\nmade up his mind whether to just reshuffle the Cabinet or conduct
\nan overhaul by streamlining it.<\/p>\n
He also said the most important key is whether the political
\nclimate will be more conducive as a result of the Cabinet
\nreshuffle.<\/p>\n
Hikam said currently there were certain politicians who
\ncontinuously undermine the President by making erratic and
\ninconsistent statements.<\/p>\n
Separately, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung
\nalso stressed that it was fully the President's prerogative to
\nconduct a reshuffle. Nevertheless, he said he expects that if one
\nis carried out a more solid team should be resolved to tackle
\nproblems, such as economic recovery, the security and threat of
\ndisintegration.<\/p>\n
\"If Gus Dur says that he can handle those problems with the
\ncurrent Cabinet, then that's fine and we'll leave it to him. We
\nwon't interfere,\" Akbar said.<\/p>\n
He underlined that widescale support for a Cabinet reshuffle
\nwas a way to remind Abdurrahman that he had to deal with many
\nurgent problems and that he needs a more effective Cabinet
\nbecause so far there had been no significant progress in the
\ncountry. (dja\/prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-pours-cold-water-on-cabinet-reshuffle-rumors-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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