Akbar not to resign cabinet post

JAKARTA (JP): Rather than relinquish his post as minister/state secretary, Golkar's newly elected chairman Akbar Tandjung said he had asked for an assistant to ease his workload as a Cabinet minister.

"I have proposed the appointment of a state secretary deputy to coordinate all state secretariat internal affairs matters of which I am no longer much involved in on a daily basis anyway," Akbar told journalists after accompanying President B.J. Habibie during the celebration of the 51st anniversary of the country's cooperatives.

Akbar said the new assistant would not hold a ministerial rank but would just be a deputy for the State Secretariat.

He refused to disclose whom he would prefer as a deputy or when the new post would begin.

Akbar pointed out that in the past the now defunct position of minister/cabinet secretary also had a deputy.

Habibie retained Bambang Kesowo as deputy cabinet secretary even though the post of cabinet secretary has been abolished.

When asked why he did not resign as minister to avoid possible conflicts of interests in the future, Akbar replied: "A minister is a political position, and there is no prohibition to hold another political post".

Former minister/state secretary Sudharmono and former minister of information Harmoko both retained their posts while they were Golkar chairmen.

Observers and even some Golkar members have called for Akbar to cede his Cabinet post to show that Golkar is an independent entity from the government and can truly fulfill a role as a check on the executive branch. (prb)