Akbar: The sooner the Cabinet is reshuffle the better

Akbar: The sooner the Cabinet is reshuffle the better

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung
suggested on Wednesday any Cabinet reshuffle take place before
the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly in
August, citing the urgency to solve the crucial problems facing
the country.

"Because of the slow pace of the economic recovery and
anticorruption moves, I think the sooner the better to shake up
the Cabinet," Akbar said, adding that July could be the right
time for a reshuffle.

He said an earlier meeting between himself, President
Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) chairwoman and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri
and National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Matori Abdul Djalil
discussed the impending Cabinet reshuffle.

The meeting, which took place at Megawati's official
residence, prompted speculation that ministers added to a
reshuffled Cabinet would be drawn from PDI Perjuangan, Golkar and
PKB.

Despite his advice, Akbar said it was up to Abdurrahman not to
involve political parties in the process of the reshuffle. He
also said those recruited to fill ministerial posts should have
adequate capabilities, not simply proximity to the President.

Abdurrahman hinted on Tuesday he might conduct a major Cabinet
overhaul in August. In a rare display of unity, all major
political parties have shown support for the move and have
promised to stay out of the President's way during the process.

However, constitutional law experts said the 1945 Constitution
does not give the president complete freedom in selecting his or
her ministers. They said Abdurrahman could not ignore the wishes
of political parties, because ultimately the President must
answer to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

One of the experts, Ismail Sunny, said due to the fact that
the Constitution implies a "half presidential" system,
Abdurrahman could not reshuffle his Cabinet without consulting
with major political parties.

"(The Cabinet reshuffle) cannot be done without the support of
the political parties which make up the MPR," Ismail told The
Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Another expert, Bagir Manan, shared Ismail's opinion, saying
there were certain understandings or codes Abdurrahman had to
adhere to in executing the reshuffle. "The President has to honor
certain ethics or gentlemen's agreements which led him to the
presidency."

Political observer Kusnanto Anggoro also voiced caution,
warning Abdurrahman that removing all political party members
from his Cabinet would give the parties more of an opportunity to
impeach him.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar here, Kusnanto said the
move would allow political parties to wash their hands of the
Cabinet's poor performance and hold Abdurrahman alone accountable
for the Cabinet's failures.

"The political parties are either trying to escape from the
administration's recent failures or consolidate their own people.
But both options will finally target Abdurrahman's stepping down
in August next year," he said.

He said the reshuffle would not guarantee an improvement of
the Cabinet's performance because middle-ranking state officials
under the ministers came from the former administration and had a
different vision.

Kusnanto further asserted that Abdurrahman would only make "a
rush decision" if he went ahead with his planned Cabinet
reshuffle. Such a move, Kusnanto said, would further harm the
President rather than benefit him.

Another political observer, Cornelis Lay from Gadjah Mada
University, hailed the reshuffle proposal, saying it could create
a more solid and effective Cabinet.

Cornelis said the new Cabinet should consist of people from
those political parties which performed well in last year's
general election in order to gain political legitimacy.

"It is very important to consider that political parties are
allowed to form the Cabinet only if they can collect at least 51
percent of the vote to obtain political legitimacy," Cornelis
said in Yogyakarta.

He said a PKB-Golkar or PKB-PDI Perjuangan combination in the
Cabinet would be ideal because those parties formed the majority
in the House of Representatives. (10/44/45/har/jun/dja)