Megawati urged to fill vacant jobs in cabinet<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta<\/p>\n
For the sake of the Cabinet's performance, President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri has every reason to fill vacant ministerial posts
\nwith permanent replacements, although her administration's term
\nwill end in less than five months.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody wants to be a minister, and Indonesia has numerous
\nsuitable people for the position, but she (Megawati) doesn't want
\nto recruit them,\" National Mandate Party legislator Alvin Lie
\ntold a discussion here on Friday.<\/p>\n
He said, despite the fact that her days as president were
\nnumbered, Megawati's administration should ensure that public
\nservices would not be affected by the resignation of ministers.<\/p>\n
Megawati, he added, lacked seriousness in dealing with
\nnational matters and this was reflected in her reluctance to
\nappoint permanent replacements for resigning ministers.<\/p>\n
The President has named interim ministers, whose workloads are
\nalready heavy, to take over from senior ministers Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla. Another minister, Agum Gumelar, has
\njoined the presidential race, but not yet quit the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
\"It is Megawati's prerogative to appoint new ministers or not,
\nbut she has the obligation to make sure public services in the
\nnext five months of her tenure will not be harmed,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Deputy House speaker Muhaimin Iskandar of the National
\nAwakening Party concurred, saying the absence of political
\ncourage was one of Megawati's main weaknesses, and her
\nadministration would have achieved significant progress in the
\npast few years if she had shown strong leadership.<\/p>\n
According to him, the next five months would be enough time
\nfor Megawati to win back people's support for her presidential
\nbid.<\/p>\n
\"Megawati still has five months to make strategic policies to
\nwin the hearts and minds of the people, but she has been busy
\ninaugurating development projects that could be manipulated to
\nraise funds for her presidential bid,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Megawati, who has named the leader of the country's largest
\nMuslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, Hasyim Muzadi, her running
\nmate, will be facing a strong challenge from Wiranto and Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono, from the Golkar Party and the Democrat Party
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a political analyst at the Indonesian
\nInstitute of Sciences (LIPI), expressed his disappointment over
\nMegawati's indifference to the performance of her administration.<\/p>\n
\"The people would be behind her if she appointed permanent
\nreplacements for all resigning or sick ministers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, the President should appoint replacements
\nfor communications minister Agum, defense minister Matori Abdul
\nDjalil and justice minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra because their
\nportfolios were strategic.<\/p>\n
\"The nation is in urgent need of a replacement for Agum, who
\nhas to resign due to his vice presidential candidacy. A new
\ndefense minister is also needed to replace ailing Matori, and to
\nhelp solve the poor relations between the defense ministry and
\nthe Indonesian Military.<\/p>\n
\"Yusril should be replaced to prevent him from posing any
\ntrouble to Megawati's government, because he, and his party, has
\nsupported the pair of Susilo and Kalla,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ikrar was of the same opinion, that it was the right moment
\nfor Megawati -- and politically valid -- to introduce strategic
\npolicies to win the people's support for her reelection.<\/p>",
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