Abdurrahman's Cabinet

The new Cabinet has been given a negative response by analysts and business circles. The rupiah slid to Rp 8,430 to the U.S. dollar while businesspeople and analysts expressed doubts about certain ministers in key positions. Those developments underline President Abdurrahman Wahid's willingness to take risks, both political and economic, as well as to put his own position at stake.

This fact deserves consideration since the people have been waiting for a long time for the economy to recover. The legislature cannot remove the President from office, but unless the country gets out of the current crisis soon, the credibility of the head of government will continue to decline.

Putting together the Cabinet is the President's prerogative. This right has been executed and representatives of non- governmental organizations, intellectuals, the bureaucracy, the banking industry and the military are included in the Cabinet. Several political parties, with the exception of Golkar, also are included in the lineup.

What people are waiting for now is for Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri to be able to steer the Cabinet. This is a unique situation indeed. The President dominated in composing the Cabinet, but the Vice President will be in charge of overseeing it.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta