President should control ministers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A political observer says the head of state
\nneeds to take sterner action against errant ministers.<\/p>\n
Maswadi Rauf, a lecturer at University of Indonesia's School
\nof Social and Political Sciences, told a seminar on clean
\ngovernance here Thursday, the head of state was responsible for
\nthe establishment of a clean and respected government. He should
\nnot, therefore, be reluctant to use his authority to correct
\nmismanagement by his subordinates.<\/p>\n
Maswadi was referring to several ministers' controversial
\ndeeds related to the financial management of their ministries. He
\nsaid there were at least two occasions when President Soeharto
\nhad defended his subordinates instead of reprimanding them.<\/p>\n
One of the most recent cases involved Minister of Mines and
\nEnergy I.B. Sudjana who had ordered a transfer of funds from
\nstate-owned coal mining company PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam
\ninto his personal bank account.<\/p>\n
Following the uproar, earlier this month President Soeharto
\nsaid the coal funds would be returned but there had been no
\nreports about whether the minister had made a management mistake.<\/p>\n
In January, Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto was
\ncleared of alleged corruption involving billions of rupiah of
\nstate funds. President said only that the minister had made
\n\"administrative\" mistakes.<\/p>\n
\"The President should use more frequently his authority to
\nimpose sanctions against ministers who tarnish the government's
\nclean image,\" Maswadi said in a seminar held by the United
\nDevelopment Party.<\/p>\n
Maswadi said Soeharto functions as the head of state and head
\nof the government. \"Because of this dual role, the President
\nplays an important role in creating a clean and respectable
\ngovernment,\" he said.<\/p>\n
As head of government, the President has the authority to
\nappoint and dismiss ministers.<\/p>\n
Maswadi admitted, however, that a culturally-embedded
\nreluctance has so permeated Indonesia it was difficult for people
\nto tolerate a replacement in the cabinet even if they considered
\na minister had tarnished the government's image.<\/p>\n
Maswadi defined clean government as one which has majority
\nsupport, brings prosperity to the people, and translates their
\ndemands and aspirations into policies.<\/p>\n
Enforcement<\/p>\n
Economist Faisal H. Basri shared Maswadi's view, citing the
\nneed for better law enforcement even when it concerned officials
\nstill in power.<\/p>\n
He lamented how law has replaced rules and regulations and has
\ndistorted values and norms, and how the judiciary system no
\nlonger protects people from injustices but has become a tool for
\ncorrupt officials to justify their misdeeds.<\/p>\n
Faisal, known for his criticism of many government policies,
\naccused the authorities of creating injustices in the economy by
\nallowing certain businessmen to exploit Indonesian resources. In
\nthis situation, he said, it's the public that loses out.<\/p>\n
\"Both those in power and businessmen get all the benefits of
\neconomic exploitation, while the public, in this case the
\nconsumers, have to bear all the losses inflicted by those
\n'colluding' in the authorities-businessmen deal,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He cited monopoly practices in wheat flour, cloves, sugar,
\npalm oil, rice and high-octane gasoline as examples of the losses
\nthe consumers must bear because of these deals.<\/p>\n
Similar redistributions of benefits are found in the
\nimposition of new highway tariffs, the financing and sales of
\naircraft of the State Aircraft Industry IPTN, the restructuring
\nof the privately-owned airline Sempati Air and the construction
\nof the Hang Nadim Airport on Batam island.<\/p>\n
Referring to the government's protection of a local company
\nproducing the controversial \"National Car,\" Faisal called it a
\nredistribution of interest between car salesmen.<\/p>\n
The government imposes special tax rates on PT Timor Putra
\nNasional, a privately-owned car manufacturer, to take the
\nbenefits of the car production and distribution monopoly away
\nfrom the hands of the already existing major automobile
\nmanufacturers. (imn)<\/p>",
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