Abdurrahman bets his post on new Cabinet, says Akbar

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung said that President Abdurrahman Wahid was betting his presidency on the new Cabinet which consists of his own men and decided upon with little involvement from political parties.

"If the Cabinet fails to perform well, the People's Consultative Assembly will be firm in evaluating the government in the next annual session," he was quoted by Antara as saying during a meeting with the Indonesian community in New York on Saturday.

In the meeting, moderated by Indonesian Consul General in New York I Gusti Ngurah Swetja and attended by Indonesia's permanent representative to the United Nations Makarim Wibisono, Akbar said the Assembly would be more outspoken if the Cabinet did not fulfill public expectations.

He said although the next annual session, expected to be held in August next year, is not going to ask for the government's accountability, it could ask the President to account for his actions.

In his first comment on the new Cabinet, Akbar, who is also chairman of the Golkar Party, did not elaborate on what he meant by the Assembly asking for the President's accountability.

"Gus Dur's duty will become harder and harder since he cannot say it was a compromise Cabinet," Akbar added.

Akbar revealed that he was asked by the President for his views when establishing the previous Cabinet in October, however he was not consulted on the lineup of the new Cabinet. And neither were other political parties, according to Akbar.

Before going to the United States last week, Akbar said he only discussed the structure of the new Cabinet with the President without naming potential ministerial candidates.

"Golkar was never asked to discuss the Cabinet lineup. We have our own evaluation of the Cabinet," he contended.

Akbar said the establishment of the new Cabinet should have considered two important factors: capability and political support.

He argued that political support is needed since Cabinet ministers would often have to meet with members of the House of Representatives.

"But Golkar is not in a position to reject the Cabinet since the establishment of the Cabinet is the President's prerogative," he noted.

Akbar also expressed his disappointment on the instability prevailing in Indonesia which has been worsened by the recent wave of bombings.

"The bombing cases can create an assumption that there are many terrorists in Indonesia. Even, spreading rumors that foreign terrorists operate in the country," he said.

He said these cases could erode public trust on the ability of the police, especially if the police fail to resolve these cases.

At least two bomb blasts rocked Jakarta and Medan in North Sumatra recently.

In early July, a homemade bomb exploded in the attorney general's office in South Jakarta.

On Aug. 1, a huge bomb exploded outside the residence of the Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Leonides T. Caday, on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta, killing at least two people.

In Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, two bomb blasts occurred in separate areas last week. The city was also rocked by a blast in May when a bomb exploded in a church.

The police are still searching for the suspects of the bombings. (jun)