Parties press for Cabinet change to boost position<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
With calls mounting for the replacement of some Cabinet
\nministers, political parties were fishing for deals ahead of the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR) annual session in August,
\nanalysts said on Monday.<\/p>\n
They said this might lead to some parties securing more power
\nwithin the government for the 2004 general election.<\/p>\n
Political observer Ikrar Nusa Bhakti said the annual session
\nhas served as a forum for parties to renegotiate their bargaining
\npositions and access to power within the government.<\/p>\n
\"It's a possible explanation of the increased calls for a
\nCabinet change, given also that there is no major rift between
\nthe President and the legislature,\" Ikrar said on Monday.<\/p>\n
When President Megawati Soekarnoputri returns from her two-
\nweek European trip on Friday she will have to confront critics at
\nhome accusing members of her 10-month-old Cabinet of foot-
\ndragging.<\/p>\n
On the list are Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil, for
\nincompetence; plus State Minister for National Development
\nPlanning, Kwik Kian Gie, for continually disagreeing with other
\neconomic ministers.<\/p>\n
Criticism has also fallen on State Secretary\/Cabinet Secretary
\nBambang Kesowo, whom many have charged of widening his influence
\nwithin the government.<\/p>\n
Political parties, including Megawati's Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), have openly expressed their
\ndesire for Bambang's removal.<\/p>\n
But the pressure might not be strong enough for Megawati to
\ndismiss Cabinet members after she spent nearly a month selecting
\nthem.<\/p>\n
People close to the President said she disliked \"backtracking
\non her words\", and she also wanted to avoid a footloose cabinet
\nas her predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid once had.<\/p>\n
During his 22 months in power, the former president changed
\nhis cabinet four times, or virtually every five months, sometimes
\non his own initiative.<\/p>\n
Ikrar said Megawati should learn a lesson from Abdurrahman's
\nfrequent cabinet changes, reasoning that political opponents had
\nlevered their influence and weakened his from the inside.<\/p>\n
\"They (Cabinet changes) should take into account the
\ncoalition of the political parties that propelled Megawati to the
\npresidency,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
With the annual session close, political parties might be
\nbetting on Megawati reconsidering her stance, according to dean
\nof the University of Indonesia's faculty of political science
\nMaswadi Rauf.<\/p>\n
\"Megawati will have to heed these calls if she wants to ease
\npressure on herself at the MPR annual session,\" Maswadi said.<\/p>\n
In August the President will deliver her progress report
\nbefore the MPR, the country's top law-making body, in which
\nlegislators occupy more than half of the seats.<\/p>\n
\"Megawati cannot afford Gus Dur's style of dismissing
\nlegislators,\" he said, referring to Abdurrahman by his nickname.<\/p>\n
Legislators, fed up with Abdurrahman downplaying their role,
\nhad the president removed by calling for a special session of the
\nMPR following a six-month impeachment campaign.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman's cabinet, however, stood on shaky ground from the
\nvery beginning. His cabinet, as was his presidency, was the
\noutcome of a political compromise between the country's two
\nlargest political parties, PDI Perjuangan and Golkar, and the
\nReform faction, which is a coalition of largely Muslim-based
\nparties.<\/p>\n
His ouster and Megawati's rise to the presidency last July
\nwere driven by these political forces.<\/p>\n
Megawati enjoys broader support as parties agreed to maintain
\nher presidency until at least the 2004 general election.<\/p>\n
The consensus followed Abdurrahman's erratic administration,
\nwhich took its toll on the nation's economy, with foreign aid
\ncuts and dwindling investments. Political stability is the
\noverwhelming priority at present.<\/p>\n
Minor ructions against the government have surfaced over the
\npast few months. In one example, rumors of a new political
\ngrouping in the making was apparently a bluff to persuade PDI
\nPerjuangan to agree to replace Assembly deputy speaker Matori
\nwith Cholil Bisri.<\/p>\n
Both Matori and Cholil hail from the two warring factions
\nwithin the National Awakening Party (PKB), both factions vying
\nfor seats in the political establishment.<\/p>\n
Rumors of a possible alliance between PKB and the Reform
\nfaction subsided with Cholil's appointment early this month.<\/p>\n
Speculation has now surfaced that elements within PDI
\nPerjuangan are hoping to form a new coalition within the
\ngovernment through a Cabinet shake-up.<\/p>\n
But PKB legislator Ali Masykur Moesa was dismissive that
\nnarrow political interests were driving the latest call for the
\nreplacement of Cabinet ministers.<\/p>\n
Slack coordination within the economic team, and the state
\nsecretary becoming a burden to Megawati were strong enough
\nreasons to reshuffle the Cabinet, he thought.<\/p>",
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