So, what else is new?<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Gus Dur and my wife share the same priority in
\nfacing the new year. The priority is, shaping up their respective
\nCabinet! My wife with her kitchen cabinet, and Gus Dur, as
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid is popularly known, with his
\ngovernment Cabinet.<\/p>\n
In our home, it has been mutually agreed since day one that
\nthe mother of my children has full authority over the kitchen
\ncabinet. Nobody is to put anything in it without her approval.
\n\"And just what is this disgusting thing doing in my cabinet?\" she
\nwould rattle every time she finds an unidentified object in her
\narea of authority, the way Gus Dur would complain about a
\nminister he didn't want in his Cabinet (but had to accept
\nanyway).<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the rest of the family does not have a good
\nsense of privacy. My youngest son, for instance, is very fond of
\nthrowing non-kitchen-related things into the cabinet, the way
\npolitical parties squeeze names into Gus Dur's administration.<\/p>\n
By the end of 1999, my wife vowed to get rid of unnecessary
\nthings in her cabinet, so that it would look good. \"Please remove
\nyour personal belonging from my cabinet before I dump them into
\nthe garbage bin,\" she announced sternly.<\/p>\n
Her announcement was similar to Gus Dur's appeal, hinting that
\nif any of his ministers are involved in corruption, collusion and
\nnepotism (KKN), he\/she should resign before being fired. One of
\nhis ministers did resign, but denied that his resignation had
\nanything to do with KKN allegations. The other ministers rumored
\nto have conducted racketeering are staying put, insisting they
\nhave done \"nothing illegal\".<\/p>\n
From the beginning, the Cabinet has been criticized bitterly.
\nSome ministers are said to have been installed for the purpose of
\ncompromise, regardless of their qualifications. And Gus Dur
\nadmitted that originally he wanted a slim Cabinet with much less
\nministers, which means much less Volvos, much less housing and
\nmuch less money the taxpayers would have to pay. But he had to
\naccommodate suggestions (or pressure?) from certain political
\nleaders to hire certain candidates.<\/p>\n
What happened to professionalism?<\/p>\n
That was the biggest question I (and many others) had in mind.
\nupon seeing the \"colorful\" list of people assigned as ministers.
\nSome of them do not have any idea of what they should do. \"This
\njob is new to me,\" that was the general comment of the newly
\nappointed ministers (some pretended they hadn't expected the
\njob). \"I'll have to learn before I can do it.\"<\/p>\n
Now, after 100 days, it turns out that very little has been
\ndone by the government. Some ministers have not even opened their
\nmouths about their programs in solving this country's problems.
\nApparently, they are still learning.<\/p>\n
How long are we, the people of this riot-torn country,
\nexpected to wait until something is done to restore the economy
\nand stability? (I wonder if Adam Schwarz will come up with a new
\nbook titled A Nation In Waiting Eternally).<\/p>\n
A friend of mine said, \"It looks like we are getting back to
\nnormal.\"<\/p>\n
What he meant by \"normal\" was the old-style government in
\nwhich small people are taken for granted; the interests of
\nfriends and cronies are put on top priority; law enforcement is
\nonly done on paper; and the people at top levels enjoy all the
\ngovernment privileges while looking at the misery of small people
\nfrom the tinted windows of their luxury cars.<\/p>\n
Restoring the economy to empower small people? Sure they will.
\nBut, first things first, they need to \"empower\" themselves. And
\nthey do this by coming up with a proposal to sharply increase the
\nsalary of the top government officials. That seems to be the
\nfirst priority amid the everlasting economic crisis. What an
\ninsensitive gesture! And, listen to their excuse: The salary of
\ngovernment officials and other top people must be raised so that
\nthey will not be tempted to conduct KKN!<\/p>\n
Who are they kidding?<\/p>\n
Any idiot knows that KKN does not exist merely due to lack of
\nincome. It is a matter of moral disorder. One who earns 100 times
\nhis or her normal spending would still be tempted to rake in more
\nmoney through any possible way.<\/p>\n
One of the ministers reasoned that the salary increase was due
\nto an improper salary scale. \"My salary is only Rp 10 million,
\nand that is less than the salary of a director in a BUMN (state-
\nowned company) under my ministry. That's not fair. He is my
\nsubordinate, isn't he?\" he complained, forgetting that the value
\nof the fringe benefits he enjoys is a lot more than the salary of
\nthe said subordinate. Not to mention dana taktis (extra fund on
\ntop of the budget) that he can tango with.<\/p>\n
Next, how about law enforcement?<\/p>\n
Hope was previously rested on the shoulder of the brand new
\nattorney general who used to be a decent, courageous person. In
\nthe beginning, it looked like everything would be different from
\nthe way it used to be. The attorney general made strong and stern
\nstatements, vowing to investigate anybody accused of a crime. But
\nnow the institution under his control has gone back to \"normal\".
\nOf course, some cases of fraud have been probed, suspects have
\nbeen questioned, and, finito! The attorney general has not gone
\nanywhere with his vows. (How about another chicken, sir?). Those
\nalleged perpetrators of fraud are still at large and the old
\ncases remain untouched.<\/p>\n
After a series of protests and criticism, Gus Dur, who will
\nsoon be en route to Europe, denied the rumors about the massive
\npay hike, a coup d'etat, and a Cabinet reshuffle. And the press,
\nagain, is blamed for incorrect reports. On the ministers said to
\nhave conducted KKN, \"They will be sacked if they are proven, in
\ncourt, to be guilty,\" was his only explanation. So, what else is
\nnew?<\/p>\n
This nation may still have to wait until God knows when.
\nMeanwhile, bon voyage, Mr. President.<\/p>\n
-- Carl Chairul<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/so-what-else-is-new-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }