Politicians to dominate Cabinet<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): While President Megawati Soekarnoputri remains
\nsilent on the possible lineup of her Cabinet, Vice President
\nHamzah Haz suggested that most ministers be recruited from
\npolitical parties in a bid to win the parties' support of the new
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists after Friday prayers in the mosque
\nopposite his private residence in East Jakarta, Hamzah said many
\npoliticians \"are smart and capable of handling state affairs\".<\/p>\n
\"I think many politicians fit the ministerial posts, for
\nexample Kwik Kian Gie and Laksamana Sukardi from the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), who are widely
\nknown for their capabilities,\" Hamzah remarked.<\/p>\n
Like Hamzah, both Kwik and Laksamana served as ministers in
\nformer president Abdurrahman Wahid's administration. The three
\nwere dismissed by Abdurrahman, whose erratic 21-month rule ended
\non Monday.<\/p>\n
The Vice President underlined that ministers from political
\nparties would enjoy wider support in carrying out their duties.<\/p>\n
He proposed that during this transitional period, 60 percent
\nof the Cabinet members should come from political parties, with
\nthe rest of the ministerial posts going to nonpartisan
\nprofessionals.<\/p>\n
\"This composition is needed to help the government push for an
\nimmediate economic recovery,\" said Hamzah, whose tenure in the
\nHouse of Representatives was mostly spent on the budget
\ncommission.<\/p>\n
He said, however, the final decision on the Cabinet lineup was
\nMegawati's.<\/p>\n
\"It is the prerogative of the President to appoint her
\nministers and I won't give any recommendations unless I am asked
\nto do so. We have to wait for Ibu Megawati to decide on the
\nCabinet lineup,\" Hamzah said.<\/p>\n
Megawati said after her induction as the country's fifth
\npresident that her Cabinet would be announced in a few days. The
\nPresident visited her father's grave in Blitar, East Java, on
\nThursday, and made her first official domestic trip as President
\nto Sumedang in West Java, Palu in Central Sulawesi and Makassar
\nin South Sulawesi on Friday.<\/p>\n
Separately, Akbar Tandjung, the speaker of the House of
\nRepresentatives and the Golkar Party chairman, said his party
\nwould support the government even if none of its members were
\nincluded in the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
\"Even if Golkar is kept out of the Cabinet, we will support
\nthe new government and give it a chance to restore political
\nstability and defuse the long-standing economic crisis,\" he said,
\nadding that he did not yet know whether Megawati would recruit
\nany Golkar figures for her Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the deputy secretary-general of the National
\nAwakening Party (PKB), Muhaimin Iskandar, said on Friday his
\nparty, which was cofounded by former president Abdurrahman Wahid,
\nwould refuse any offer from Megawati to join the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Muhaimin said the decision was made during the party's plenary
\nmeeting at its headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Programs<\/p>\n
Politicians and activists called on Megawati to announce her
\ndevelopment programs before naming her ministers.<\/p>\n
Alvin Lie, a legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN),
\nsaid both the public and the market were waiting for the new
\ngovernment's programs in the areas of the economy and the legal
\nsystem, with the country currently plagued by an economic crisis
\nand legal uncertainties.<\/p>\n
\"Megawati must first announce to the public what her
\npriorities will be in the first 100 days of her government,
\ninstead of forming her Cabinet, to convince both the public and
\nthe market,\" Alvin said during a panel discussion here.<\/p>\n
He advised the new government to adopt the major parties'
\njoint political platform in designing its programs.<\/p>\n
He explained that according to the parties' political
\nplatform, the new government should prioritize stabilizing the
\nrupiah and reducing to a minimum interest rates to revive the
\nreal sector, creating political stability and upholding the
\nsupremacy of law to regain international confidence.<\/p>\n
According to Feisal Riza Rachmat, a prodemocracy activist, if
\npolitical leaders continue to fight for power the Special Session
\nof the People's Consultative Assembly will have been of no
\nbenefit to the public.<\/p>\n
\"The public will remain apathetic about the national
\nleadership and the new government will be trapped in horse-
\ntrading if it fails to design programs benefiting the majority of
\nthe public,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also called on the Golkar Party to stay out of Megawati's
\ngovernment and play the role of an opposition party.<\/p>\n
\"Golkar's opposition would benefit not only the much-
\ncriticized party but also the government,\" he said, adding that
\nthe absence of an opposition party in the past contributed to the
\ncorruption and collusion among political leaders and the
\nbureaucracy. (rms\/dja\/tso)<\/p>",
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