Akbar approves Cabinet reshuffle

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung hinted on Tuesday that a Cabinet reshuffle may be an appropriate response to the House's memorandum of censure to the President.

Akbar remarked that a Cabinet reshuffle may be important to improve the government's performance and as a means of acknowledging the concerns of the House on the performance of the government.

However, he stressed that it was the prerogative of the President to change the Cabinet lineup.

"It is the prerogative of the President to shakeup his Cabinet. It is also the President's right to choose the people in the government lineup," he told journalists on Tuesday.

When asked, however, Akbar, who is also Golkar Party chairman, said that he would not ask for seats in the Cabinet.

But if the President asks Golkar to suggest candidates, it will oblige, he added.

"It will depend on the position and the urgency to put one of Golkar's cadres in the Cabinet, but if the country needs it then it would be OK by me," Akbar remarked.

Meanwhile, a presidential spokesman denied on Tuesday rumors of an impending Cabinet reshuffle amid increasing calls on President Abdurrahman Wahid to give more power to his deputy, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"No. There is no plan to reshuffle the Cabinet in the near future," presidential spokesman Yahya Staquf told reporters at Merdeka Palace.

A Cabinet source had said earlier that Abdurrahman might reshuffle the Cabinet before or after an upcoming 15-day overseas trip to the Middle East and Africa.

The President, the source said, wanted to shore up support for his presidency and would likely give more power to Megawati in deciding the ministerial lineup. (byg/dja)